Going Back
by nobodysangel08
Summary: Vanessa goes to San Luis Obispo for a wedding. How will she face Zac after he broke her heart? Will their old feelings resurface? Or will a new person in Vanessa's life fill the gap Zac left? M for strong sexual content. R&R please! UPDATE: April 30
1. Chapter 1: The New Face and the Flight

**Description: Vanessa goes back to San Luis Obispo. How will she face Zac a year and half after having her heart broken? Will all of the old feelings resurface? Or will a new person in Vanessa's life fill the gap that had been left by Zac? Read to find out!**

One- The New Face and the Flight

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." That was all I could think as the plane's wheels hit the tarmac, causing me to grip the armrests on either side of me even tighter. The man sitting next to me chuckled quietly as he glanced down at my already white knuckles.

"Not a fan of flying?" He asked, with a slightly amused tone to his voice. That really wasn't helping my situation.

"No, I fly all the time actually," I replied, his questioning making me even more anxious. If a stranger could tell that I was nervous, I couldn't bear to imagine how blatantly obvious my nerves would be to who waiting for me at the gate.

"It's more getting off the plane that I'm not a fan of. Not much to look forward to. I have to see some people that I haven't seen in a really long time. And I had been looking forward to seeing them, but now that I know I have no way out I'm not so sure anymore" I gushed, and immediately I wished I'd just lied and told him I was edgy because it was my first flight or something generic like that. I didn't like to talk about myself; yet when I was nervous my brain could never seem to tell my mouth to stop talking. I wished I could just shut up.

The look on his face gave me the impression that he felt the same way. He smiled politely but awkwardly and then turned to pay close attention to the Blackberry that he was sending messages on almost faster than I would have thought possible. Was he telling everyone that he knew about the famous but crazy actress that he had met on his cross-country flight?

I wanted to laugh as I recalled the conversation that I'd had with this man, probably in his early thirties, so not much older than me, when we first boarded the plane and were getting settled. I assumed that he had thought differently, more highly, of me at that point.

**--------- flashback to beginning of flight ---------**

As I was somewhat accustomed to, although not nearly comfortable with, I was aware of his eyes scanning my figure as I approached and pointed at the seat next to him. I could practically feel the trail of his eyes on my back as he stood in the aisle to let me in and I slid past him to sit down in the window seat. When his eyes did make their way to my face, he smiled and let out a small rush of air as recognition sunk in.

"You're. You can't. Are you really…" he began, still smiling but now seeming nervous.

"Vanessa Hudgens," I finished for him with a slight laugh as I held out my hand to shake his. He seemed slightly taken aback for a moment, but then he took my hand in his. He held on for just a moment too long as he looked at me in what seemed to be a mixture of awe and intimidation. I wondered if I was ever going to get used to people looking at me like this- like I was something special. It had been almost two years, and it still made me feel awkward and uncomfortable.

"Oh, I'm Aaron Saunders, by the way. It's so great to meet you. I know that you probably hear this all the time, but I am a really big fan of yours. I think I've seen all of your movies, and I have all of your acceptance speeches taped. Not that you wanted to know that," he trailed off. He shifted nervously in his seat. I laughed lightly, making sure it came across as laughing with him and not at his saying too much.

"I actually don't hear that last part very often, but I appreciate your support. Now if I ever want proof of my nerves at their very best, I'll know who to ask." I smiled gently at him, doing the best that I could to make him feel comfortable.

It took him a moment to gather what I was referring to, but then he laughed and smiled back. "Oh the acceptance speeches. Right. Well, geez, if you were nervous- and you can't even tell that you were in the videos- you had plenty of reasons, I guess. I mean, an Oscar and two Golden Globes all in the same year. That would be pretty nerve wracking. In a good way."

"I guess you could say that," I smiled weakly in reply. Talking about it still made me feel slightly uncomfortable. Being the center of attention or the subject of people's admiration had never been my goal. I had started acting because it was the one thing in my life that consistently made me happy. It was my whole life. Not because I was good at it, as I was constantly being told, but because it was just what I loved. It made me feel complete.

For the next few minutes, I chatted with Aaron about his job, author, the purpose of his trip, family wedding, and about some of his hobbies, tennis and building his vast library of both DVDs and books. When the flight attendant came around offering headphones for the in-flight movie, I purchases a pair, mostly for the sake of politely ending the conversation with Aaron before it was my turn to really contribute to it; talking about myself had always made me feel horribly self conscious.

I groaned and leaned my head against the wall of the plane as the opening titles of the movie began. Of course, they would be showing my most recent film. I suddenly felt that numerous sets of eyes were locked on me. There were moments in my life when I felt like I had a huge, neon sign over my head that flashed "ACTRESS! OSCAR! GOLDEN GLOBE!" Not because I liked to think that people stared at me, but because I hated that it was often true. This was one of those moments.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aaron steal a quick glance in my direction, trying to gauge my reaction. I closed my eyes, pretending to sleep. After a few minutes, I actually did drift off to sleep, waking when we were only about twenty minutes away from landing.

**--------- end flashback ---------**

While I'd been rethinking the duration of the flight, I hadn't been listening to any of the speech the flight attendant had been giving about disembarking, but I grimaced as I caught her last few words. "We hope you have a pleasant stay in San Luis Obispo, or wherever your final destination may be."

I snorted, thinking that my stay here was bound to be anything but pleasant. I was kicking myself mentally for being so damn impulsive as I trudged down the narrow aisle behind Aaron.

When we got to the gate, Aaron turned and held out his hand. I took it and smiled.

"Again, it was very nice to meet you. Good luck with the rest of your career. Not that you even need it." He returned my smile, and then turned to walk away. He took about five steps before turning again and walking back toward me.

"I don't want to seem like an annoying fan, but could I get your autograph? It's just been so surreal and nice to meet you. I know that no one is going to believe me if I don't have some proof. Hell, when I wake up tomorrow I might not even believe it. I'll think it was some kind of dream." This time it was his turn to say too much again. It made me feel more comfortable that I wasn't the only who's mouth got away from me. I wondered to myself if I would start rambling again at some point before we parted ways, so that the score between us would be even.

"Of course," I said quickly and drew a pen out of my bag. I watched him as he fumbled around in his own carry-on, looking for something that I could sign.

With each passing moment, I found myself liking Aaron more and more. I think it was a certain sense of awkwardness that he possessed that matched my own and made me feel more comfortable. And it didn't hurt that he was actually very good looking, in a very simple and humble sort of way. He had a genuine smile and bright, blue eyes that shone when smiled or laughed. He was good looking, but not in the same way as many actors I had worked with who knew how attractive they were. Aaron either had never thought of himself as attractive, or he had but he was just as uncomfortable with it as I was with my status as a beauty symbol. Either way, it made me like him more.

I stood there patiently, gently laughing at his frantic search. I was perfectly content to stand there all day watching him sift through his bag, and I had almost forgot that I was bound to have a small welcome party awaiting me just past security.

After a minute or two, Aaron straightened up and held out his boarding pass for the flight we'd just been on. I gave him an amused, quizzical look.

"I know, I know. All that time spent looking and this is what I come up with. But I figure how better to prove to myself and the rest of the world that I met you on this flight than to have you sign this," he waved the boarding pass and then handed it to me.

"I guess that makes sense," I replied with a laugh. There was not much blank space on the ticket, but I scrawled him a short note about what a pleasure it was to sit with him, and under it I signed my name. Then, before I realized I was doing it and for a reason that I did not even fully understand, underneath my name I wrote out my cell phone number.

I quickly handed the boarding pass back to him, afraid to see his reaction. But I heard a slight gasp and saw his head snap up. His gaze met mine directly and lingered there. He was obviously waiting for me to speak first. I didn't know how to fill the awkward silence that I had just created.

"Uh, in case your friends need more concrete proof that you met me." I stammered, trying to shake the feeling of being back in the seventh grade telling a boy I liked him for the first time. "You know, just give me a call and I'll prove it to anyone who doesn't believe you." I laughed, hoping to play it off as a joke. I didn't know if it had worked, but Aaron smiled at me and tucked the boarding pass into his pocket.

"Yeah, thanks. I might have to do that." He stood, somewhat slack-jawed, and still looked at me as if it were my move.

"Well I have people waiting for me, so I better get going," I reasoned, at the same time that I internally registered that I was somewhat sad to be walking away from Aaron. I didn't know why I felt a connection to him after such a short time.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to keep them waiting, even if you don't want to see them." He laughed. I thought for a brief moment that I saw in his eyes the same regret that I felt about walking away.

"It was very nice to meet you, Aaron Saunders."

"You too, Vanessa Hudgens." He said, and then he turned and started to walk away. I stood watching him for a moment before I began walking as well.

******Author note: Stay tuned for the next chapter. Who will be waiting for Vanessa at the gate, and will she be able to face whoever it is? Will Vanessa ever see or hear from Aaron?**

**Feedback and reviews would be SO greatly appreciated. Especially since this is my first story ever. Let me know what you think!**

**xoxo. **

**:]**


	2. Chapter 2: Baggage

Two- Baggage

Never in my 27 years of life had I been this nervous. Not before any audition, any performance, or any event. Throughout my career I'd had some pretty nerve-wracking moments, but this moment topped them all. I walked as slow as humanly possible, trying to put off what was ahead of me for as long as I could. In my mind, I tried to run through all of possible scenarios of what I was bout to face.

Possibility 1: He's there by himself and we spend the twenty-minute car ride to his home in awkward silence, neither of us knowing what to say. Possibility 2: He's there by himself and we spend the twenty-minute car ride arguing. Possibility 3: He's there with someone else, a girlfriend or some of his family members, and I can focus my attention on his family, who I always loved as much as my own. Possibility 4: No one is there at all, and I could just get back home to LA that much sooner. I found myself desperately hoping for the fourth possibility.

I suddenly became very aware that my heart was probably beating loud enough for everyone within a ten-foot radius to hear it. I had no idea what I was going to do when I saw him.

What do you say to the person who broke your heart a year and a half ago? How do you even look at the man that you had been in love with for over four years until he, out of the blue, ripped the rug out from under you and left you broken. How do you find the strength to be in the same room with him when you're still as in love with him as the day that he told you goodbye?

The hundreds of questions running through my mind were complicated and never ending. But it seemed that one answer fulfilled them all: I have no idea. I didn't know how I was going to get through the next four days, or if I would survive it at all. But I had no choice. I had put my own baggage aside and come here to support someone whom I would do anything for. He'd said he needed me, and I wasn't going to back out now.

As the escalator took me down to the level of baggage claim, I fidgeted with the gold ring that was still, 8 years later, on the ring finger of my right hand. I had never had the power to take it off. It was the one thing that I could look at on a daily basis that would give me hope. Looking at that ring that had so much meaning and reminded me of the happiest times of my life made me feel, if only for a moment, that things would be alright again. All of the wonderful things that little gold ring stood for told me that this separation, this divide between us, was not meant to last. Or at least that's what I made myself believe; I had to believe it. That small glimmer of hope got me through every waking moment.

I shook myself from my thoughts and started to look around the crowded baggage claim area for a familiar face. I heard his voice before I saw him.

"Vanessa Anne Hudgens. Get your skinny butt over here."

It was definitely the voice of an Efron, but it wasn't Zac's.

"Dylan!" I practically squealed as I turned to see him hovering over me. I lunged at him and he picked me up in a tight hug. I laughed as he set me back down and held my shoulders so that he could examine me.

He spun me around, looked me up and down, and declared, "Yep, it's official. You, Miss Hudgens, are shrinking. You're even shorter than the last time I saw you, which I wouldn't have even thought possible. And where's Stella, I thought she was getting here today too?" He playfully nudged my shoulder.

"She is going to be here tomorrow morning. She's driving up from L.A, the crazy girl. And that's not true that I'm shrinking. It's not my fault you're still growing! You're 24 years old, for god's sake, aren't you supposed to be done growing by now?!" I teased him and nudged him back.

"Probably. So, shall we grab your bags? I think this is your flight's coming around now." Dylan pointed to the luggage carousel that come to life.

"Sure. Wow, Dylan. I can't believe that you're getting married! When you called me and told me, I thought that I was being Punk'd! I mean, I remember when you and Kelsey first started dating. And now you're getting married! Are you excited, nervous, regretting it?" I laughed, confident that it would not be the last option. Dylan and I still talked on a regular basis and I knew that he was over the moon about his upcoming marriage.

"I can hardly believe it myself, that the wedding is only two days away. I'm actually surprised at how calm I've been through it all. I thought that I'd be nervous or something, but I'm honestly just so excited. But, of course, my mother is not handling it as well. She keeps telling me how she never thought that 'Her baby would be getting married first,' I mean we all obviously thought that…" He trailed off when he realized that he had said too much.

I turned my head away from him, trying to hide the grimace of pain that involuntarily swept across my face at the thought of the future that I could have had with Zac.

"Ness, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine. Really. I see my bags." I pointed to the far side of the carousel, where my bags had just come out.

We stood in silence as we waited for my bags to come around. When they did, Dylan grabbed them off of the carousel.

"Jesus, Nessa, what do you have in these things, steel coated bricks? You do realize that you're only here for four days, don't you?" He threw me a disapproving glance, but then laughed.

"I'm coming from New York, remember?" I pointed at myself sarcastically. "Big important movie star who had to film a big important movie."

Dylan laughed and started walking towards the exit, pulling my two heavy suitcases along behind him.

The automatic doors slid open as we approached and the familiar heat wave of July in California hit me. California was home, and it was a relief to be back after two months in New York City.

We headed to the car in silence, as I soaked in the pleasure of being temporarily content. But like so many things in life, I knew it could not last.


	3. Chapter 3: Preparing

Three- Preparing

Once in the car, I grilled Dylan for more details about his wedding. I was genuinely interested, however I made conversation more for the purpose of keeping my mind from the all-too dangerous place that it was dying to wander. After about ten minutes, however, Dylan had talked himself dry in the wedding department. We rode in silence for a few minutes before I mustered up the courage to awaken the giant that had been sleeping in the car.

"So, um, is he…" I mumbled, not completely sure what I was even trying to ask. I just knew that I needed to start to learn how to talk about this. I was going to have to be with him for the next four days.

How was I supposed to function at all if I couldn't even talk about it with Dylan, whom I love like a brother and is the only reason why I even agreed to come here; he had said that he wanted me there, and he had become so much like family to me over the years that we had known each other, that I did not have the strength to say no.

Luckily, Dylan knew me well enough to guess the many questions that were implied in my mumbled, half-sentence. "He got here two days ago. He's been so helpful with getting things ready; a really great best man. He seems like he's been doing pretty well. It's so hard to tell with him nowadays. Since he's been traveling so much, it's hard to get in contact with him sometimes. Like, just last month we couldn't get in touch with him for just under a week because he had lost his phone somewhere in Brazil. I think Sao Paulo or somewhere like that. Somewhere he said he'd been before, but didn't get to spend much time there."

"Rio." I said quietly.

"What?" Dylan looked at me out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge my reaction to the conversation.

"He was in Rio. We went there years ago, and he said that he wanted to go back someday," I replied. My voice came out nearly as quiet as a whisper. I was amazed that I was able to muster the strength to even actually speak at all; I felt like every fiber of strength in my body was working toward holding the pieces of my shattered heart together.

"Nessa, we don't have to talk about this." Dylan said quietly, rubbing my shoulder gently.

At his words, the floodgates opened and I felt tears start to stream down my face. I wasn't aware that Dylan had pulled the car over until it came to a stop and I felt Dylan's arms around me, pulling me into a hug. Not able to feign strength any longer, I let the tears fall and I sobbed into the shoulder of the brother I'd never had.

We sat like that for what may have been only a matter of second or what may have been hours. I was lost in so many ways; lost in the memories of how things had been, lost in the thought that Zac was now revisited places where we had traveled years before, lost in my own fears of what was now only a matter of minutes away from me.

I felt Dylan kiss the top of my head, and the arms around me loosened as he pulled away. I slumped back into my seat, the tears still flowing, but somewhat slower than before.

"He broke me," I whispered. "He broke every piece of me, and I don't know how I can look at him or be in the same room as him without breaking all over again."

Dylan grabbed one of my hands and turned my head to face him with the other. "Vanessa, I have seen you go through so much. I've known you for almost ten years, and in those ten years I have watched you deal with more than some people deal with in a lifetime. And I know how hard it is for you to be here and for you to see Zac again. But you've made it this far. And there are so many people here who love you and are ecstatic to see you. Zac may be blood, but I can honestly tell you that many people in our family are more thrilled that you're here for this wedding than that Zac is. And everyone one of those people wants to support you and prove to you how much they love you. Hell, you're so popular with my family that you might not even have time to see or talk to Zac."

I laughed half-heartedly, not entirely comforted by Dylan's words, but feeling slightly stronger and more positive than I had been a few minutes before.

"But you know, all you have to do is say the word and I will turn this car around and take you right back to the airport. I'll just tell the family that you got stuck in New York for re-shoots or something." Dylan smiled his familiar, comforting smile. This conversation was reminding me why I had always been such good friends with Dylan; he always knew what to say to make me feel better about something.

"No, I want to do this. I need to do this. Knowing that I have a majority of the Efron clan on my side does help. Thank you, Dylan. I don't know what I'd do without you." I smiled at him.

"Well you wouldn't even be in this situation, so I'm just trying to do what I can to make things better." He smiled back at me, and then glanced down at his watch. "Oh shit, we've got to get back to the house. Kelsey and I have our final tasting for the reception menu in fifteen minutes. If I'm not there on time, they'll be serving the food at my funeral instead of my wedding reception." Dylan winked at me and squeezed my hand before letting go and getting back on the road.

Five minutes later, we were pulling up the driveway to the house that had come to feel like another home. Starla must have heard the car coming up the driveway, because she was out of the house and walking toward the car before we had even come to a complete stop.

I hurriedly wiped the remaining tears from my eyes as I saw her head straight for my car door. When she opened it, however, the tears welling up in her eyes caused them to start again in my own. The instant that I stepped out of the car she pulled me into a tight, warm hug. The hug that only a mother can give.

Again, I lost all sense of time as I stood in the embrace of a woman who I had one day hoped to call family. But at that moment, all I knew was that in her motherly arms, I felt safe.

I heard her whisper in my ear "Welcome home, sweetheart," and I knew without a doubt that, even if it was only in that small moment, it was true. I was home. And for the first time that day, a wave of joy washed over me.

That wave of joy was forgotten seconds later, however, as a tsunami of grief came crashing down upon me. Even out of the corner of my eye, I recognized him instantly. I caught only a glimpse his bright blue eyes watching me before he retreated around the corner of the house.


	4. Chapter 4: Questions

******Author's Note: Hey guys, here is chapter four. But before you read it, I just want to thank you guys sooo much for your great feedback! I honestly never expected to get such great feedback so soon on my very first story. I truly appreciate it, and please keep it up. I love knowing what you guys think! :]**

**Enjoy this chapter! I've already started working on the next one, so I should hopefully have that up tonight as well. But it will be up by tomorrow, at the latest. **

Four- Questions…

I sat on the floor against the end of the bed in one of the Efron's guest bedrooms with my head in my hands. The spot on the carpet beneath where I was sitting was wet, but whether it was from tears or from my still-wet hair dripping, I didn't know. Somewhere between getting out of the shower and getting dressed, I had felt the need to stop. I clung to the brown towel that was wrapped around me as if it was the only thing that was even holding the pieces of me together.

Half and hour earlier, Starla had shown me inside and straight to the room where I would be staying. I had told her that I really needed to rest after my flight and this was the story that she had told the rest of the family to explain my not socializing with them right away. But when she gave me another hug outside of the bedroom door, I knew that she understood. I really just needed a little time to be alone with my thoughts.

However, I was not alone for long.

I heard a knock on the door and my heart shot up into my throat when I heard an all too familiar voice from the other side of the door.

"Vanessa… Can I come in?"

I shakily got to my feet, but then immediately sat on the end of the bed; I wasn't sure if my legs were going to have the strength to hold me up.

Zac knocked lightly on the door again. I opened my mouth, by nothing came out. I cleared my throat and choked out "Come in."

I watched the door start to open, and then immediately fixed my gaze on the floor. I knew that the moment I looked into his eyes I would be done. I would get lost in the twin pools of crystal clear blue that had the ability to see right through to my very core.

"Oh, sorry. You're not dressed. I'll, uh, come back." He stammered. I still didn't look up at him, but I could see him standing in the entry, still with a hand on the doorknob.

"No, it's fine. Let me just change." I croaked out, my voice coming out as barely more than a whisper. Still not looking at him, I scooped up the clothes I had laid out on the bed and I rushed into the bathroom.

I was dressed in less than a minute, but I stayed in the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. I was trying to decide where to start. There were so many questions. About the last time I'd seen him, about the last year and a half, about every moment that we had shared before he told me goodbye. I was ready for so many answers, but I still wasn't ready to look at him. And then the solution hit me.

"Um, Zac, can you hear me?" I said in the direction of the door into the bedroom.

"Yeah, I can. Are you going to come out?" He sounded more amused than anything.

"There are some things I need to say," I said, making it clear that I did not share his amusement.

"Well then come out and we'll…"

"Please, Zac. Just let me say what I need to say. I know you're going to want to interject, but I really need to just get this all out."

"Okay, sorry. Go ahead." I heard him say quietly, and I saw the door move slightly, realizing that he must be sitting and leaning against it. I took a deep breath and prepared to say to him the lines that had been running through my head almost nonstop for the past year and a half.

"I know that this may seem childish, me talking to you from in here. But the truth is, Zac, I can't look at you. And I really don't know if it's because I know that I'll look at you and forget the unbelievable pain that you've caused me, or if it's because looking at you will make me feel all that pain even more intensely than I already do. I honestly am not sure, and I really can't handle taking that risk.

"Do you have any idea how badly you hurt me, Zac? We were together for six years. Six. And then one day, seemingly out of the blue, you tell me that you 'Can't do this anymore' and that you don't think you're in love with me anymore. How can those things possibly be true if every moment up until that point indicated otherwise? Love and relationships don't work like that. You don't go from loving someone one day and telling them that you want to spend the rest of your life with them; to leaving them the next day and telling them you don't love them. I refuse to believe it.

"So the way that I see it, you've lied to me. But what I have absolutely no idea about is when you lied to me. Were you lying all those times that you told me you loved me? Were you lying when you told me that you didn't love me anymore? And if you were, why; why would you lie to me and tell me that when you know that I love you more than anything in the world, more than my own life?

"It just doesn't make any sense, Zac. And I think that I could accept this and move on eventually if I understood it, but I don't. I have spent almost every waking moment of the last year and a half thinking about this, thinking about you. Asking myself the dozens of questions that I'm asking you now. And I wish that I hadn't. I wish that I had walked away from you that night and never thought about you again. Or put you as a part of my past that was good while it lasted but that is over now. But I can't do that, Zac, because you're not my past. I can't put you into the past and keep you there, because I'm still just as in love with you as the day that you walked away from me, and I still refuse to believe that there is not a place for you in my future.

"We spent six years together, the six best years of my life, planning the rest of our lives. Together. We planned them together and our plans included each other. And even though you've made new plans, I haven't. I can't, Zac; because those plans were built on the foundation of a love that is the strongest and the best thing that I've ever known or experienced. And this separation, this distance, this void between us, does not feel anywhere near as powerful to me as our love did. This pain that I've felt over the last year and a half has torn me down to the point where I've felt like I'm barely alive, barely able to breathe. But it's still no match for the joy that I felt when I was with you. The intensity of the pain is nothing compared to the intensity of the love and the happiness that I felt before you walked away.

"So I'm not asking you to take me back or for things to go back to the way that they were. I'm just asking why. More than anything, I need answers. If I could just know why, then maybe I would have a prayer of getting over you someday and putting the past in the past. But as of right now, that's not possible for me to do. So I really just need you to tell me what happened. The truth. And it doesn't have to be right this moment, but I really just need answers.

"Actually, I don't want you to tell me right now. Tell me tomorrow. Because I know that was probably a lot to take in. So I've said what I need to say, now the next move will be yours. I'm going to come out now. So… Yeah."

I paused a moment and then took a deep breath and opened the door, preparing myself to look him in the eyes for the first time.

But I looked around and the room was empty. Zac had left. And I was left standing there, alone, my hair still dripping wet, with yet another question that, at the moment, was even more pressing than any other I had just asked: How much of that had he even heard?

******Author's Note: How much of her confession and her questions had Zac heard? Will he give her answers? And how will those answers affect their relationship? Read next time to find out! **

**xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5: Poker Face

******Author's Note: As promised, here is the next chapter! So sorry it took so long, guys. Read and review, please! Enjoy!**

Five- Poker Face

After finishing getting ready, I decided to head downstairs to catch up with Zac's family. I still had all of the same thoughts and questions running through my mind, along with a few new ones. But I needed to get out of my own head and be around people who could make me genuinely happy.

As I made my way down the stairs, I heard a shout of "Bullshit!" Followed closely by the same voice exclaiming, "I win!" from the living room, followed by the roar of laughter of the entire family. From what I could tell, it sounded like Dylan had won the latest game in the family's never-ending tournament of the card game "bullshit".

I walked into the room to witness Dylan dancing a victory dance around his father David, whom apparently was his latest victim. I laughed as David stuck a foot out in front of Dylan, who immediately fell face first into the couch. The laughter in the room swelled to a roar, and the boisterous scene before me could only be described as the pure and infectious joy that comes from being with your family.

Looking up from the couch, Dylan noticed me standing in the doorway and immediately yelled "Ness! You just missed me kicking my dad's ass in…"

But David throwing a pillow at his younger son's face stifled Dylan's bragging. Everyone roared in laughter again as Dylan moved to retaliate.

"Dylan, sit down!" Starla snapped, coming in from the kitchen behind me. She stood beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Vanessa did not come all this way to watch you and your father wrestle. David, you should know better too."

The two Efron men mumbled sheepish apologies after being put in their places. Still with an arm around my shoulder, Starla ushered me forward into the room and sat me down in the middle of the couch.

"Now, what Vanessa did come here for was to be beaten in a game of poker. Will you play with us, dear?" Starla nodded to Dylan, who brought out a set of poker chips from under the table.

"Of course. How could I pass that up?" I smiled, and Dylan grinned widely and proceeded to shuffle and deal the cards.

Zac was absent from the family gathering, but he was just about the only Efron who wasn't there. Along with his mother, father, and brother, were three of his grandparents, four aunts, six uncles, and seven of his cousins. Even with the family room being as large as it was, it was still crowded. But it was the best possible kind of crowded; the kind where love and joy are felt so strongly that it is almost tangible.

My fellow poker players were David, Starla, Dylan, one of Zac's aunts, two of his uncles, and three of his cousins. I had never played with so many people, and it was pure, enjoyable chaos.

While I played, I was asked dozens of questions by every member of the family. The majority of the questions were about my career and about the new movies that I had just filmed, or about those that had just come out, or about what my next project was. Everyone was kind enough not to ask very many questions about my personal life, already knowing that my answers would not be very positive.

Ever since things had ended with Zac, I had thrown myself into my career and there had hardly been one day when I wasn't working. It was exhausting a lot of hard work, but if it meant keeping my mind off of other things, then I didn't mind at all.

I also took my turn in inquiring into the lives of all the people that I had missed so much over the past year and a half. I truly regretted not keeping in touch with so many of Zac's family members who I practically considered family as well. All of his relatives had always been so loving and welcoming toward me that it was impossible not to fall back into the pattern of truly enjoying their company. It felt great to just talk and laugh with people who truly loved you.

Being as busy as I had over the last year, I had not had very much time to do this with my own family. I had spent a good deal of time away from Los Angeles, first in Scotland filming, and then in New York. I was definitely looking forward to going home in a few days and catching up with my own family.

An hour later, I had successfully beaten all of the Efrons at poker. Little did they know that Zac had taught me almost everything there was to know about poker, and that we had used to play all the time. I chose not to share this, since bringing up anything that involved Zac was not really something that I wanted to do. I knew that his family would never bring it up themselves; I only feared that if I brought up his name, they would think that I was in a position to talk about it. Which, honestly, I still wasn't.

Starla got up from her place where she had been next to me on the couch and held out her hand to me. "Vanessa, honey, do you want to come help me make dinner? And maybe give me some pointers about how I can improve my poker game, since apparently you've become the pro out of the bunch of us." She smiled warmly.

"I'd love to," I replied with a laugh. I took her hand and she pulled me up from the couch.

"We're going to play another game, so that maybe when you come back one of us will be able to kick your ass instead of you kicking ours," Dylan called to me as I walked into the kitchen with Starla. I looked back to see them starting to deal for the next game. Dylan pointed at me and mouthed 'you're going down' before winking at me and turning to redirect his attention to the game.

"So what can I help with?" I inquired, pushing my hair behind my ears.

"Absolutely nothing. Have a seat, honey. I just wanted to talk to you." Starla replied. She smiled warmly as I sat down facing her across the large island in the center of the kitchen.

"How are you doing? And I mean the truth. I know that you have probably spent the past year telling people you're 'fine' or 'okay'. But I know you better than that, darling. So how are you, really?" Starla gazed at me earnestly, the concern evident on her face.

"I was hoping that it wasn't that obvious…" I said quietly.

"It's not, to everyone else. But Vanessa, you're like my own daughter. I have seen you grow and change so much over the past 10 years. And I know how things were between you and Zac, so I know that no one in your position would be all right only a year after things went downhill. And I know you better than to just believe you when you say that you are 'fine'. And please don't think that you can't talk to me just because Zac is my son. Believe me, sweetheart; I have wanted to wring his neck so many times over the past year that I can't even explain it. I am so angry about what he did to you, and all of the times that I have asked him about it, he has completely shut down and given me absolutely no explanation. But I'm not even the one who deserves one; you are. Has he given you any answers, honey?"

"No, he hasn't. I talked to him for the first time a little while ago, and I asked him all of the questions that had been on my mind. But I told him that he could wait and process it all and talk to me about it tomorrow." I chose not to tell her about how uncertain I was about how much of what I said he had even heard. It would only give her more reason to be angry with her son, and I did not want to be the reason for causing any more distance between the two of them. They had always been so close, and I could tell that she was so angry with him, but that it was really hurting her.

"Well I'm sure that he will, dear. I know that what he did to you was wrong, but deep down inside of him there is still a decent man who knows the right thing to do. He hasn't been himself since the day that he ended things with you. But I'm hoping that having you here will bring out the person that he used to be; the person that would recognize that you need and deserve answers. Give him time, he'll come around." She smiled at me over the salad that she was tossing. "I can tell that you've already reached him. He looked somewhat upset when I last saw him a little while ago. Which is a nice change; I have barely seen him show emotion in months."

"He looked upset? But I didn't think that anything I said even got through to him, or if he even heard it." Little did Starla know that I, literally, wasn't sure if he had heard it. But the fact that she said he was upset led me to believe that he had at least heard part of what I said.

"Vanessa, you're the only person who can ever truly get through to him. I'm sure that whatever you said, he heard it and he is taking it to heart. I'm telling you, he looked like a different man when I saw him before. It must have been after you talked to him. I only saw him for a minute as he was leaving, but I could tell that there was something different."

"He was leaving? Why? Where was he going?" I was confused; Zac loved being around his family when they were all together. Why would he be leaving instead of spending time with them?

"All I know is that he said he was going to Pismo."

"Oh, well I guess I'm not surprised. He does love to go to the beach to surf while he's home."

"But he wasn't going to surf. He just fully dressed and he walked out and said that he was going to Pismo. And I went to the door and watched him leave, he never took his surfboard or anything."

"Oh, well then I don't know why he would be going there. But then again, I don't really know him at all anymore," I said, getting more confused by the minute. Leaving right after or in the middle of me pouring out my heart to him, not even giving me the change to look at him? And then just storming out? That didn't sound like the Zac that I had known.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot. On his way out, he threw this on the counter," Starla gasped. She hurried to the other side of the kitchen and returned with a small, folded note with my name, in Zac's familiar handwriting, on the outside. "I guess I'll give you a minute alone to read that. I'll go round try and convince the poker freaks over there to stop their game long enough to come eat dinner."

I sat motionless with the note in my hand as Darla squeezed my shoulder and then hurried off into the living room. I was afraid to open the note, but too curious not to. I opened it and read the brief note inside. I read it over several times, but still confused by what it said and what it meant.

V,

2631 Spyglass Dr. In Pismo Beach.

Tonight at 8.

Please come.

Zac

I looked at my watch and realized that it was 7:00. I had know idea what could be at the address that he had given me, but all I knew was that this note gave me a glimmer of hope. Maybe I would get the answers I needed and wanted so badly.

I went upstairs to get my purse and jacket. I looked at my phone on my way back down the stairs. I had two missed calls. One was from Aaron. The other was from Zac.

I dialed, pressed send and waited. After three rings, I heard a voice on the other end. 'Hello?"

"Hi, um, it's me."

"Vanessa. I was hoping you would call back." The male voice responded, sounding genuinely excited that I had called. And I couldn't help but smile into the phone.

******Author's note: Who did Vanessa call, Aaron or Zac? Will she go meet Zac like he asked her to? And if she does, what will he have to say to her? Stay tuned for more. :]**

**Another cliffhanger! I know, I'm very very mean. Next chapter is in progress! Will update soon.**

**xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6: Aaron

******Author's Note: As promised, here is the next chapter! I'm trying to make up for making guys wait so long for the last one. Read, review, and enjoy! :]**

Six- Aaron

"Yeah, well I saw that you called, Aaron, and I figured it would be rude of me not to call you back."

"Well I'm glad that you have good manners. Cause if you didn't call me back, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to ask you to go to dinner with me tonight." Aaron said quickly into the phone.

"Oh, Aaron, I'm sorry but I have some things that I have to do tonight. So I can't."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I should've known that you'd probably be busy."

Aaron sounded so disappointed that I spoke without really thinking. "Well I can't do dinner, but I could really go for some coffee. Meet me at the Starbucks in Pismo Beach in twenty minutes? If that's okay with you; I mean, I don't know where you're staying. But what I'm saying is that I can meet you there in about twenty minutes. If you do want to see me, cause I would like to see you. It just kind of has to be right now." I was rambling. I didn't know what it was about Aaron that made me absolutely incapable of just saying what I needed to and then shutting up.

"That sounds perfect. I'm actually staying near there. So I can be there in twenty minutes no problem."

I couldn't help but smile at the genuine excitement in Aaron's voice. I also couldn't help but smile at the fact that I found myself feeling the same way. "So I'll see you soon, Aaron Saunders."

"I can't wait, Vanessa Hudgens. See you."

I hung up the phone, still with a smile on my face. I didn't really know what I was doing or why, but I knew that talking to Aaron gave me tiny butterflies in my stomach. Nothing like I had ever felt with Zac, but still, it was something. And more than anything, I was happy that I could even potentially think about anyone else but Zac. Being able to get him off of my mind, if only just a little, was a relief.

When I got back downstairs, Starla was in the kitchen. She had been unsuccessful in convincing the poker party to come eat dinner, and was cutting cucumbers and tossing them into the salad.

"Starla, I was wondering if I could borrow your car. Zac, uh, asked me to come meet him at Pismo. That's what his note was about."

"Of course, dear. The keys are hanging by the back door. Tell my lousy excuse for a son that I say hello," she replied. I could tell in her voice that she was mostly joking, but that there was some truth in her words about Zac.

"Thank you so much. And I will. I'll see you later." I said with a smile and I headed for the back door.

"Vanessa, wait." Starla stopped me. She wiped her hands on the kitchen towel sitting on the counter next to her cutting board. She walked over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. "You'll be alright, darling. Just remember that the man you used to love is in there somewhere, even if you can't see him right now." She whispered softly into my ear. I felt her kiss the top of my head, and she released me from the hug and gave me a warm smile before turning back to her dinner preparations.

"Thank you, Starla." I said before turning and heading out the back door, grabbing the keys to her car as I went.

I got in the car and made the familiar twenty-minute drive to Pismo Beach. Zac and I used to make the drive anytime we came to visit his family. It was his favorite beach in the world for surfing, and more times than I could count we had gone and just sat and watched the sunset over the ocean. Talking about the future and our plans for someday buying a house right there in Pismo. We had both agreed that it would be the perfect place to grow old together. So much for those plans.

I pulled into the parking of the Starbucks and saw Aaron leaning against a black Lexus SUV, holding a small bouquet of flowers. I pulled up next to his car and got out, smiling widely at him. I walked over and he held out the flowers toward me. I took them and give him a hug. He was taller than I had remembered, and the top of my head was barely taller than his shoulder.

"Oh, Aaron. They're beautiful, thank you!" I beamed at him and then turned and put the flowers in the passenger seat of the car.

"You're very welcome. It was the best I could come up with on such short notice." We both laughed as he pulled open the door and we walked into the coffee shop. After we ordered and Aaron insisted on paying for my coffee, we went and sat at a table by the windows.

"So it's been, what, a whole six or seven hours since I saw you last?" Aaron beamed at me. "I mean, I know I'm irresistible, but you couldn't even stay away for an entire day?" He joked.

I playfully smacked his arm and said, "Hey, you're the one that called me. Asked me out to dinner. I'm only here because I'm too nice of a person to say no." I joked back.

"Well, I just figured that I might as well call you right away. I haven't been able to get you off my mind since we met this morning." He said, looking straight at me as he said it. He smiled a warm, genuine smile. I was flattered, but at the same time it made me uncomfortable. I wasn't the kind of person that handled compliments very well; they made me feel self-conscious. But I was genuinely happy to be here with Aaron.

"That's very sweet of you, Aaron. And I was only teasing. I'm glad that you called. Being able to see you is giving me a break from the kind of stressful day that I've had."

Aaron looked at me with concern evident on his face. "Oh yeah, those people that you hadn't been looking forward to seeing. How did that work out?"

"Well, technically it was just one person that I wasn't looking forward to seeing. My, uh, ex. But I also got to see his entire family, which was very nice. I'm staying with them for a few days while I'm here for his brother's wedding. It's kind of a long and twisted story," I laughed uneasily. The barista called out our coffee orders and Aaron went up to the counter to get them. He came back and set mine in down in front of me and I thanked him.

Aaron paused for a moment and then looked at me and said, "You and Dylan must be really close."

I looked up at him in shock. "What? How on earth do you…"

"Well I mean, it's no secret that you and Zac were together. You were the most famous couple in America. And I'm just now putting two and two together. I'm here for Dylan and Kelsey's wedding also. Kelsey is an old friend."

I gaped at him, with no idea what to say.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring anything up. I know it's not my place. All I was trying to say is that you must a very good friend to Dylan to come here and be here for his wedding when it means being around your ex."

"No, no. It's fine. I mostly just can't believe that you're here for their wedding too. It's just funny. But yeah, it hasn't been the easiest; but Dylan asked me to be here and I promised that I would." I smiled at him, trying to reassure him that there were no hard feelings over bringing up Zac.

" Well you're a great friend. I wish I had one like you." He beamed at me.

"Well I'm your friend now, so you do. Consider yourself lucky." I smiled back and winked. Aaron smiled back at me.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping our coffees and watching people on the beach through the window.

I looked down at my watch and realized that it was only five minutes until 8:00. "Shit, I'm really sorry Aaron but I have to go. There's somewhere that I have to be in five minutes."

"Oh, okay. No problem." We both stood and walked toward the door. Once outside.

I unlocked the car and turned to say goodbye to Aaron. "It was really, really nice to see you again, Aaron. Thank you for calling. Can we do this again, maybe even tomorrow?"

Aaron grinned at me. "Now look who's the one that can't stay away." I playfully smacked his arm, but smiled. "I'd like to, but I won't be able to. I'm going to San Francisco for the day tomorrow. Well I'm actually leaving tonight. But I'll be gone all day tomorrow.." Aaron paused and then said uncertainly, "And uh, Vanessa, if you don't have a date to the wedding on Saturday, I would be honored if you would go with me. I mean, if you think that it would be too awkward with Zac there or if you just don't want to go with me I understand. I was just thinking it, and I didn't want to regret not asking you if by some miracle you actually wanted to and you said yes. So, uh, yeah; now I've asked. Feel free to say no. I just wanted to…"

I reached up and put my hand over Aaron's mouth to silence him. "You talk too much." I whispered as I stood on my tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "I really don't want to complicate things. And I would love to go as your date, but how about I agree to save you a dance instead? To try and keep things simple."

"I think I can live with that." Aaron smiled down at me. I gazed up into his blue eyes and, for the first time in over a year, I felt my heartbeat quicken and butterflies flutter in my stomach. I slowly went up on my tiptoes again, this time to wrap my arms around Aaron's neck. I softly kissed him again, this time on the lips. I pulled back and quietly said, "There are some things in my life that I need to work out. But I have a feeling that I'm going to want you there once I have sorted them out."

Aaron smiled down at me and said, "As long as you even think there's the slightest possibility that you could want me, I'll be here. You're worth waiting for, Vanessa Hudgens."

I smiled at him and kissed him softly again. "I'm glad you're willing to wait. But right now I really, really have to go. I'm already late."

"Alright, I'll see you on Saturday, Vanessa."

"Bye, Aaron." I got into the car and was still smiling as I pulled out of parking lot. I didn't really know what I was doing, and I didn't know if it was smart for me to be doing it. But there was one thing that I did know: for the first time in over a year, I saw potential for being happy with someone other than Zac. I had never thought that I would have another first kiss, but now that I had I found myself looking forward to the second kiss.

******Author's Note: What will happen when Vanessa goes to meet Zac? Will what he has to tell her change her mind about things with Aaron? Stay tuned to find out!**

**I know you're all probably hating me for this chapter! hehe. But I promise that this IS a Zanessa story. No worries. But I've got some interesting ideas for this story line with Aaron, so just stick with it. :] Next chapter is in progress! Should be up tonight as well. **

**xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7: The House

******Author's Note: Next chapter! This might be my personal favorite so far, but what really matters is what YOU think. So tell me how you guys feel about it. Finally our first really Zanessa moments in this one. Read, review, and enjoy!**

Seven- The House

I put the address that Zac had given me into the navigation system in Starla's car, and followed the directions that it gave me. It was just past 8 o'clock, but the destination was only five minutes away, so I was not worried. I had waited over a year and a half for answers from Zac. He could wait five minutes for me to get there. Just to ensure that he knew I was coming, however, I sent him a brief text saying 'On my way'.

I got confused as I realized that I was driving deeper and deeper into a purely residential neighborhood. Where in the world was Zac having me meet him? I began to think that maybe I had put the wrong address into the navigation system when I recognized Dylan's car sitting in the driveway of a small but nice-looking house. I pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. I remained in the car for a minute, looking at the house and the area around it. It was a small, quiet suburb street. I could smell the ocean and hear seagulls calling somewhere not too far away.

I got out of the car and walked toward the front door. I knocked and then took a step back and waited. A few moments later, Zac opened the door.

For the first time since he had told me that he didn't love me anymore, our eyes met. Neither of us said anything, but the look was so full of emotion and meaning that both of us had to turn away. I blinked back tears that I was begging not to fall. I didn't want to cry in front of him. I had to be strong through this, or else I would never survive it.

He stood back to let me come in, and I did. As I walked through the doorway, my hand brushed his and the touch sent shivers down my spine. Just touching that small bit of his skin made my entire body ache for contact. There had been a point in my life when being in his arms was the only thing in the world that made me feel safe, and right at that moment I longed for that feeling so badly that I thought my heart was going to burst.

These thoughts brought fresh tears to my eyes, but I was unable to keep them from falling. After Zac closed the door, he turned and saw me crying and immediately closed the gap between us in two short steps. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug.

I buried my head in his chest and lost control. I pulled him as close to me as I possibly could, not wanting there to be any space between us. Standing here, holding him, being this close to him, I was still in unbelievable pain. But I had no choice, I knew that the moment he let me go, my legs would be incapable of holding me up, and my heart would be incapable of holding me together. For this one moment, being in his arms, I could pretend that things had never changed. That he still loved me as much as he did before, as much as I still loved him.

I felt his shaky breaths more than heard them. His chest heaved unevenly against my head. And I realized that he was also crying. For a reason that I couldn't explain, this changed my pain to sudden anger. Instead of pulling him closer, I now struggled to break free of his arms. I pushed against his chest to create distance between us, and took several steps backwards away from him. His blue eyes were made even more so by the tears welled up in them that spilled over and down his cheeks as I watched. But I didn't care. I was so angry with him that I could hardly even breathe.

Still with tears streaming down my face, I said in a hoarse voice, "No, you don't get to cry. You don't get to be upset." I found myself getting angrier by the second. All of the pain that I had felt over the past year and a half made me want to scream at him and destroy him as badly as he had destroyed me.

"Ness…" He said quietly and took a step toward me.

I took a step back. I was yelling now. "No! You don't get to pretend like the last year didn't happen! You don't get to call me nicknames and act like everything is all right between us, because it's not! I'm not all right, Zac! I haven't been all right since the day that you told me that you didn't love me and you walked away from me. You did this, so you are not allowed to be upset. You're not allowed to cry because YOU did this." I took two steps toward him. "You did this. You're not allowed to be upset."

My anger was fading back into excruciating pain. He took two steps toward me and tried to wrap his arms around me again. I pushed him away again, but with less force or sincerity. "You did this," I kept repeating over and over. It was the only thing that I could think to say. I collapsed into him, my fists against his chest. I remained like that for god knows how long.

But when Zac sensed that I might have calmed down, he pulled me away, but held onto my arms. I looked up into his eyes and they held the same pain that I knew he saw in mine. But now this didn't make me angry. It made me want to die seeing that pain in his eyes; as much as he had hurt me, I still loved him more than anything and hated to see him in pain.

"So can we talk? Are you ready to hear what I have to say? Because I'm ready to give you answers." He said quietly, his voice rough with emotion. All I could do was nod, and he mustered as much of a smile as he could and said, "Okay, good. Because we are about to miss it."

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I followed him as he led me through the house, his fingers intertwined with mine. I had forgotten how perfectly my hand fit into his. But I tried to push that thought out of my mind, telling myself that it was more for the purpose of guiding me than anything else. I didn't want to get my hopes up.

He opened a door off of the kitchen and we stepped out onto a large deck that extended from the back of the house. I gasped at the view laid out in front of me. The sun was setting over the ocean, behind the mountains of Port San Luis, painting the sky brilliantly pink, red, yellow and a combination of numerous other nameless colors that are only to be found in the pure beauty of nature. The dying sunlight reflecting off of the ocean gave everything a warm glow. It was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen. But one that brought back memories of so many other times that I had watched that same sun set over that same ocean with the same man by my side. But I didn't feel like the same person who had watched all of those things; I'd lost that person and I was beginning to wonder if I could ever get her back.

I looked around at the fully furnished deck and the small backyard patio. "Where are we?" I wondered aloud.

Zac, still holding my hand, guided me and sat me down at one of the deck chairs. He sat down at another and looked at me for a moment before answering. "We, uh, are at your house."

"Excuse me?" I choked out, completely confused.

"This is your house, Ness. I uh, bought it for you. Well, for us." He said quietly.

I had no idea what to think or say. "You… You bought me a house? When? Why?"

"I bought it two years ago. When we came up for Christmas with my family. Before… everything happened. You see, Ness, we had so many plans…"

"Yeah but you threw those all away, so why are we here?" I interrupted.

"V, you said what you had to say earlier. You asked your questions. Now I want to give you the answers that you deserve. So I guess it's my turn to ask you not to interrupt, so that I can get out everything that I want to say to you." He said, gazing directly into my eyes. His voice was gentle, but with a sense of urgency behind it.

"Okay," I said quietly, sinking back into my chair but not taking my eyes off of him.

He took a deep breath and started into the explanation that I had waited so long to hear.

******Author's Note: Stay tuned for Zac's explanation. **

**I'm already about half way through the next chapter. So it will be up really soon! I'm just totally on a roll with ideas tonight, so expect the next chapter and possibly even one or two more tonight! :]**

**xoxo**


	8. Chapter 8: Answers

******Author's Note: Mkay, here's the next chapter! I'm not really sure how I feel about it, so you guys read it and let me know! Read, review and, as always, enjoy!**

Eight- Answers

"You were wrong, earlier today, when you said that we were together for six years. And I'm not really sure where you came up with six, but we were together for nine. Nine years, one month and six days, to be exact. And during those nine years, we went through so much together. With High School Musical becoming as successful as it did, and everything that we got to do for that movie. I never thought that I would ever see as much of the world as I have seen, and I have always been so incredibly happy that I got to see so many parts of the world with you. And we supported each other through our individual careers as well. I can honestly tell you that I have never been prouder in my entire life than I was sitting and watching you accept your awards. I have known since the second I met you how incredibly talented you are, and I can't tell you how amazing it felt to finally know that the rest of the world had proof of what I already knew.

"I watched you grow and change in so many ways, as a person, as a friend, as an actress, and as a daughter to your own parents, as well as my own. And in so many ways, I was happy because that change brought us closer together. But the more that you changed, the more that I began to realize that I was becoming less and less deserving of sharing your successes with you. I made the decision to take a break from my own acting career, and it's not one that I regret. We had both always said that the day acting actually felt like work, we would stop. And I am so thrilled that it never reached that point for you. But it did for me. And you know this already, but I just want to make sure that you understand. I just don't want you to think that your successes played any part in me giving up acting or anything, if anything they inspired me to stick with it longer. But it got to the point where I couldn't put my heart into it anymore. Because it was a job that was taking me away from you more than it was allowing me to be with you. And I couldn't handle that, so I stopped.

"But sitting on the sidelines and watching your career grow and your confidence and beauty as a human being grow along with it, I realized that I didn't deserve you. I don't think that I've ever actually deserved you, but now I actually had proof. You were able to balance your incredibly successful career with your personal life, and I was never able to do that. But when you started making sacrifices in your career so that you and I weren't apart as often, I realized that I was holding you back. I didn't want you to look back ten, fifteen, twenty years down the road and wished that you had done more with your career. I didn't want you to feel any regret because of me and the sacrifices that you made so that we could be together more often.

"I think that I realized what I needed to do when you had your pregnancy scare. I remember it was the day after we had gotten back from Christmas with my family, and you came to me and told me that you thought that you might be pregnant. I was ecstatic. Having just bought this house, I felt like the pieces of our lives were falling into place. But then when you told me how scared and hesitant you were, I realized that I had made plans that may not have coincided with the plans you had for your career. I realized that I was the cause in a possible roadblock for your career that had been going so well, and I hated myself for that. And I remember two days later when you knew that you weren't pregnant. The relief and the joy on your face confirmed what I had feared; that if you had been pregnant, then you would've had to make drastic sacrifices in your career. And I don't blame you in the least for being scared that you were pregnant. That's not what I'm trying to say at all. But when that happened, I truly realized that I was in a position for causing more problems than I could fix in your life and with your career.

"So I made the decision to remove myself as a risk altogether. You were right, when you said that I had lied to you. That night that I told you I didn't love you anymore, the entire night was a lie. I didn't know how to do it or what to tell you, so I chose to tell you what I thought would best sever any connection that you felt to me. I had hoped that if you thought that I didn't love you anymore, that you would be able to move on. I had no idea until you showed up here this morning how absolutely wrong I was. I was convinced that I was doing what was best for you. I shut out my entire family and pretty much everyone I knew. I had told them all the same story that I had told you, and I knew that one look at me and they would know that it had been a lie.

"There were so many times when I wanted to call you, to know how you were doing, just to hear your voice. But I knew that if I did that, you would know how worried I was about you, and about how much I was missing you. And I needed you to believe me when I said that I didn't love you anymore. And I will always regret lying to you and the pain that I caused you. I genuinely thought that in the long run I was helping you more than I was hurting you.

"You said earlier that you could move on once you knew the truth, and now you do. I never stopped loving you, Vanessa. And I never will. But I felt back then, and I still feel now, that I don't deserve you. But I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to become someone that deserves you; even if takes me thirty years. You said that I threw away our plans. But I didn't, Ness. You're my past and you're my future; but if you're not my present, I completely understand, and I don't blame you. I'm not sitting here asking you to come back to me, because I want you to keep exploring your potential, and I still think that's something that you need to do without me. I just want you to understand why I did what I did. And I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere. I sold my house in L.A., so I'll always be right here if you ever decide that you can forgive me and trust me again."

We sat in silence for a moment. Throughout his entire speech, I had never taken my eyes off of him, and I could see in every inch of his face the same pain that I felt in every inch of my own body. But even after everything that he said, I still couldn't pretend that it was okay. I stood and walked over to the railing of the deck, watching the last rays of sunlight sinking beneath the horizon. The light was almost completely gone now. I turned around to look at Zac, who was watching me intently, waiting for me to speak.

"I… Zac, I want to be able to tell you that everything is okay now and that it can go back to the way it was before. But it can't. I understand now why you did what you did, but that doesn't make it okay. You want to be a man who deserves me? Then don't lie to me and tell me that you don't love me when you actually do. I had never once in our relationship had to question whether or not I could trust you. But now, I don't know if I can believe anything that you say anymore. The past year and a half of my life has been based on a lie that you told me. And I can't forget that. As much as being apart from you kills me, now I need to be. I need to define myself without you. The past ten years I've been part of a unit, and it's been amazing. But I think in part, you were right about your fears. Not so much that you were holding me back from being successful in my career. But there is a part of me that needs to know what I am without you. Even the past year, I've kept myself attached to you. And I did love the person that I was with you, but I need to figure out who I am on my own. And you need to do the same. I was sixteen and you were seventeen when we started dating. We were so young and we were together for so long, that in a lot of ways you're the only thing that I've never known. I can't really remember what my life was like without you, and I don't think that either of us can really grow if that remains the case. I love you, I always have and I always will, but I think you're right. We just shouldn't be together right now. Maybe someday when I've figured out who I am, and when you've gotten to the point where you think that you deserve me, then thing will work out differently. But I think that for right now, things just need to stay kind of the way that they are."

Zac sat in silence, looking down at the ground. He looked up at me and tears were shining in his eyes. I immediately walked over and knelt in front of him, my hands on his knees.

"I'm not saying that I like this. And I'm not saying that it's not going to be painful, for both of us. But this is just the way it needs to be right now," I said quietly, trying to comfort him.

We remained like that for a few minutes, tears in both of our eyes. His voice was rough with emotion when he finally spoke, "Can, uh, can we still talk at least? I can't be apart from you again without at least talking to you."

"Of course we can; I can't handle not talking to you either. So I guess we'll go with the cliché break-up line and agree to just be friends." I smiled at him and we both laughed lightly.

The light completely gone now, Zac's face was lit only by the faint glow of moon and it's light being reflected in the water of the calm ocean. Zac stood up and wrapped his arms around me in a gentle hug. It was not like the first hug that we'd shared when I first entered the house. That hug had been full of pent-up desire and a year's worth of starving for contact. This hug felt sadder and was laden with a truth that was harder to face; this hug meant the end. Even if it was only for now, the hug meant goodbye.

"I'm sorry that we ended up like this, Ness. If I could go back in time and change things, I would. I will never forgive myself for hurting you," Zac whispered. I felt his tears dampen my hair where they fell on the top of my head.

I pulled away enough to look him in the eyes. I wiped a tear from one of his cheeks, and then took his face softly in my hands. "We haven't ended up like anything yet, Zac. Our story isn't over. We're both just starting new chapters that don't involve each other the way that they used to. But that doesn't mean that they never will again." He nodded and smiled weakly.

"Well I guess you should probably be heading back, shouldn't you? My mom is sure to be worrying about where you are," Zac said softly.

"Actually, I was thinking that I kind of want to spend a night in my house. If that's alright with you, of course."

Zac smiled at me and replied, "There's nothing I'd like more. I can get you some things to sleep in."

"Thanks, Zac." I smiled back at him and sat down on a stool in front of the kitchen counter while I waited for him to bring me clothes to sleep in. He returned a minute later and I felt pangs of both amusement and sadness when I saw what he had brought me. He handed me a pair of navy basketball shorts and an incredibly worn-in green hoodie; these had been my favorite articles of clothing to steal from him when we were together before.

I gave him an amused look. He shrugged and simply said, "For old times sake." We both laughed.

I changed in the bathroom next to the kitchen. When I was done, Zac showed me to one of the bedrooms, showing me the rest of the house along the way.

We stood outside one of the bedroom doors and he said in the voice of a hotel host, "You'll be staying in the Hudgens suite tonight, madam. It's the best room in the house. I do hope that it will be to your liking."

I laughed and said, "I'm sure I'll love it. Thank you, Zac." We looked at each other for a moment before he smiled and nodded.

"You're welcome, Ness. I'm going to bed too, so I'll see you in the morning. Sweet dreams," he said before turning and going into the room next to the on that I would be sleeping in.

I turned and went into my own room. It was clear that this room had been intended to be the mater bedroom. It was gorgeously decorated, and was just the way I would have decorated if I had done it myself. Zac had known my tastes very well. There was also a beautifully decorated bathroom with a large tub, as well as a large walk-in closet.

I went and crawled into the king sized bed, which was even more comfortable than it had looked. The room was perfect, but there was something missing. I got out of bed and went out into the hallway. I knocked on the door of the room that Zac had entered. He opened the door, wearing only a pair of basketball shorts similar to the ones that I had on. I tried not to pay attention to his perfect body.

"Ness, is something wrong?" He asked, looking genuinely confused.

I grabbed his hand and led him into the room that I had been meant to sleep in. "For old time's sake," I said simply. He gave me a confused look. "Please, Zac. I just don't want to sleep alone. Not in this room that was meant to be ours."

He nodded and we both crawled into the bed. I moved closer to him and he wrapped his arms around me. Now the room felt perfect.

I knew that things couldn't always be like this. That this was the last night. But just for this moment, in his arms, I felt content. I felt happy.

In the arms of the only man I had ever loved, in a house that we could have someday lived in, and someday still might, I felt safe. And even if it was all going to be gone tomorrow, it was enough to have it for now. It was enough to have one more night to fall asleep in his arms.

******Author's Note: What will tomorrow bring for Zac and Vanessa? How is Vanessa feeling about things with Aaron? Stay tuned to find out!**

**The next chapter MAY be up tonight, but if it's not it will definitely be up tomorrow. I have the next two or three chapters planned out, so I should be able to get a lot done tomorrow. But let me know what you thought of this one!**

**xoxo**

**-Annie**


	9. Chapter 9: Morning

******Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. Thank you guys SO much for the amazing reviews on the last one. I'm so glad you guys liked it. Was Zac's explanation worth waiting for?! I hope you think so, because I do. :] As always, read, review, an enjoy! **

Nine- Morning

I awoke the next morning and found myself alone. For a moment, I thought that last night had been a dream. But I rolled over and saw a note standing up on the bedside table.

V,

Didn't want to wake you. Come down for breakfast whenever you get up.

Z

I got out of bed and debated between remaining in Zac's clothes and putting back on my clothes from yesterday. Unwilling to completely give up the feeling that last night had brought, I remained in Zac's baggy clothes and headed downstairs.

I walked into the kitchen to find Zac sitting at the counter reading a book. He looked up when I entered.

"Morning, sleepy head." Zac smiled.

"Good morning." I smiled back and yawned while stretching my arms up over my head.

"So, breakfast?" He inquired, putting down his book.

Right when he said the words, my stomach growled. I realized that in the chaos and the emotional upheaval of yesterday, I had failed to eat lunch or dinner. "Breakfast sounds fantastic," I answered enthusiastically. "You still make good scrambled eggs?"

"Do I still make good scrambled eggs; you know I'm insulted that you even felt like you had to ask that question, Vanessa Hudgens." He glared at me disapprovingly, but then smiled and winked; that wink that could get me every time.

"Oh stop, I was just making sure. Where's the bread, I'll make us some toast." I started opening cabinets around the kitchen, until Zac pointed at one to the left of the stovetop. I pulled out a loaf of bread and put two slices in the toaster. I hopped up and sat on the counter, watching him make his famous scrambled eggs.

"So, what are you reading?" I picked up the book that he had put down a few moments before. I flipped it over to look at the cover and then looked up at Zac in disbelief. There on the cover was my own face; apparently this was a copy of the book that had come out after the release of film inspired by the book, and on the cover in bold letters it stated 'Now an Academy Award winning motion picture'.

"You're reading 'Beauty'? Haven't you read this before?" I asked.

"Yeah, I have. But I saw it in the bookstore the other day, and I figured that I'd buy it. I didn't have a copy." He looked at me and shrugged, obviously wanting to drop the topic. He turned back to the stove and continued cooking the eggs.

"So what do you have going on today?" I inquired, trying to make small talk.

"Well Dylan's bachelor party is tonight. He's still trying to convince me to come, but you know how I'm not really into the whole party, bar hopping, stripper thing."

"Zac, you're the Best Man, you can't skip the bachelor party. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be your responsibility to plan the whole thing," I laughed.

"Well Dylan's college buddies had it all taken care of. I didn't want to get in the way."

I rolled my eyes at him and laughed. I suddenly smelled something burning and realized that I had left the toast in the toaster. I pressed the button and two pieces of charred, black toast sprung up. "Shit, I burnt it. Do you want me to make more?"

"Nah, it's cool. The eggs are ready now, so we might as well just eat them while they're hot. Who needs toast anyways," He shrugged and dished the eggs onto two plates that he had laid out, then got out forks for each of us. "Do you want to eat outside? It's really nice out."

"Sure, why not." I opened the door and went out onto the deck. We sat in the same chairs as we had last night, and balancing out plates on our knees, ate our eggs. "Oh my god, these are delicious," I mumbled with my mouth full.

Zac laughed at me and said, "Glad you like them." We sat in silence while we ate. A few minutes later, we had both cleaned our plates and were sitting back in our chairs.

I was startled when Zac's laughter broke the silence. "What's so funny?" I asked him.

"I'm just trying to picture the exchange between you and my mom when you walk into my house. Being out all night when she knew that you were coming to meet me." He laughed again and got up to take his plate into the kitchen. I quickly got up to follow him.

"Oh my god, she's going to think that we…"

"Yep, she is. Especially if you go back wearing that," he said, gesturing to my current ensemble. "But then again, she'll probably think the same thing if you go back wearing the same thing that you left in last night. Either way, she's going to think it." Zac laughed again.

"God, I have to get back. Before the rest of your family is there to see me coming back looking like this."

"Oh they're all there already. My mom called me about an hour ago telling me to come over." Zac laughed at me again. Apparently he was getting a lot of amusement out of this.

I didn't want to laugh, but I couldn't help it. "Well what did you tell her? 'Sorry, mom, I can't come over yet. Vanessa slept over last night and I'm waiting for her to get out of bed'. Please tell me that you didn't say something like that."

"You took the words right out of my mouth!" Zac replied. I smacked his arm. "I'm joking, I'm joking. I just told her that I had some things to do but that I would be over in a little while. Oh, and she asked if you stayed here."

"She did? What did you tell her?" I asked, horrified.

"I just told her that you were too tired to drive back last night and so you just crashed here. So when she asks you, just stick with that story."

"Well it's not like we have to hide anything, Zac. Nothing happened. And even if it had, your mom knows that we can handle ourselves."

"Maybe you're right. I'm just warning you. Just trying to prepare you for the wrath of Starla Efron. She doesn't handle sneaking in and "next-morning" arrivals very well." Zac laughed and turned to rinse the dishes off in the sink.

"Thanks for the warning. Well I guess that I should be heading back. Will you be coming over later?"

"Yeah, I'll be over in just a little bit. When I think that the dust from your arrival has settled." He joked, and I hit his arm playfully again.

"Okay, well then I guess I'll see you in a little bit."

"Bye, Ness."

I went upstairs and grabbed my own clothes from last night, opting to shove them into my bag rather than put them on. Like Zac had said, either way Starla and the rest of the family where going to think the same thing, so there was really no point in changing out of something that I was so comfortable for no reason.

I picked up my phone off of the bedside table and noticed that I had a text message and a missed call from Aaron. I read the text first: "Good morning, beautiful. How was your night? Thinking of you in San Francisco." I then dialed my voicemail to listen to Aaron's message: "Hi Vanessa. Just calling to say I'm thinking about you. Hope you had a good night. I'll be busy all day today, but I'll try to call again later this evening when I'm heading back. Maybe we could grab a late dinner? I'll call later to check. Have a great day, beautiful."

I smiled as I hung up the phone and headed back downstairs. I saw Zac outside on the deck, so I didn't worry about saying goodbye again. I was feeling comfortable with how things between Zac and I had developed last night and this morning. Granted, there was still some pain and difficulty there. But it was much easier to feel optimistic now that we were on better terms.

I hadn't spent very much time thinking about Aaron last night, but I found myself thinking about him now. I barely knew anything about him, but I already found myself really liking him. And I had been so sure that Zac and I would be together forever that I had never thought that meeting someone new and feeling like this was ever going to happen again. And even after Zac ended things, I didn't think that I could ever get over him. I was so glad that I had the potential to really care about someone again. I was going to do whatever I could to embrace that. Aaron seemed like the kind of man worth getting to know; he seemed genuine and sweet, and he was handsome and funny.

I was looking forward to seeing him at the wedding tomorrow, but also hoping that it would not be awkward. Even though Zac and I had left things on good terms and we were moving toward being friends, I wondered if it was too soon to be starting things with Aaron. I knew that it was a bit late to be concerned about that, since I had obviously started things when I kissed Aaron yesterday. But I didn't regret it; I only knew that I would have to be more cautious at the wedding. Aaron had to know that if we were going to do this, it needed to be slow. I wanted to try and see if I could love someone else and let someone else in, but I was nervous about being so vulnerable again.

I pulled up the Efron's driveway and saw even more cars than had been there the previous day. "Ugh, that's just perfect," I said to myself as I got out of the car. "Even more people to see me come in like this." I started heading for the front door, but then decided that maybe I could make a more discreet entrance through the back door, especially since there were stairs in the back of the house that went up right by the room I was sleeping in. The only problem was that I would have to go around the side of the house past the large living room window, where I'm sure the entire family would be congregated.

I crept past the front door and towards the side of the house. I stood against the side of the house at the edge of the living room window, turning my head to peek inside. Just as I had suspected, the whole family was there, playing cards. I turned back before anyone could notice me. I then crouched down and began crawling on my hands and knees underneath the window. The bushes along the side of the house scraped my arm and I got several leaves stuck in my hair, but I wanted to stay as close to the house as possible to avoid being seen. After making it around the side of the house, I stood and ran to the back door. I flung it open and ran upstairs, thrilled that I hadn't been seen.

I went into my room and closed the door, leaning my head against it and breathing heavily from running up the stairs.

I jumped about a foot in the air when I heard a voice from behind me, "Vanessa Anne Hudgens, you are good at a lot of things, but sneaking around isn't one of them."

I spun around to see my sister sitting on my bed. "Stella!" I shrieked and I ran and jumped on her where she sat on the bed. I wrapped my arms tightly around her neck. "I'm so glad to see you, sis."

"I'm glad to see you too, V. But you need to get off of me. You're filthy." She laughed and moved away. I looked in the mirror hanging by the door and realized that my legs and hands were covered in dirt, my hair had leaves and twigs in it, and my knees were scraped from crawling on the ground. "Go take a shower, V," Stella said. "Then you've got some serious explaining to do downstairs, you little James Bond wannabe. Everyone saw you. Just something to keep in mind- the next time you get a script for spy movie, don't do it. You'd be a horrible spy."

"Thanks so much Stella," I laughed and shoved her playfully, but then kissed her on the forehead before grabbing some clothes and heading into the bathroom.

"Hey V," Stella called.

I popped my head out of the bathroom, "What?" I asked.

"I missed you," she said quietly.

"I miss you too, Stell. I'm really glad you're here," I said. I winked at her and smiled before going back into the bathroom and shutting the door.

******Author's Note: What will Starla have to say about Vanessa's sneaky entrance? How will things go with Stella and Vanessa when they get to spend some time together? How will Vanessa feel when she sees Aaron again, and when she sees Zac again? Stay tuned to find out!**

**Next chapter should be up soon. Just warning your guys now, probably not much "drama" in the next one. But it should still be good! Again, thank you guys SO much for your amazing reviews! You're really inspiring me to update quickly, so thanks!**

**xoxo**

**-Annie**


	10. Chapter 10: Family

******Author's Note: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. I'm so sorry for only putting up the one yesterday. I had really hoped to get more done, but I had a ton of homework yesterday and I was also feeling a little under the weather. But I hope you guys like this one! Not too dramatic or anything, but I like it. As always, read, review, and enjoy!**

Ten- Family

Stella was sitting on the bed flipping through a magazine when I came out of the bathroom after taking a shower.

"Now there's the sister that I know and love! Okay, now that you're clean I'll give you a real hug," she said brightly, hopping off the bed and running over to me. She threw herself at me, nearly knocking me backwards.

"Easy, killer," I laughed as she squeezed me tight.

"Sorry, I'm just really happy to see you. Do you realize that I haven't seen you in nine months? I've never in my life gone nine months without seeing you," Stella said. There was nothing in her voice to give it away, but the look on her face as she let go of me and turned to walk back to the bed gave away that she was upset.

"Stella, I'm really sorry. You know that I've been working a lot and…"

"That never stopped you from seeing me before. You've always been busy, but you've always found time to see your family, Up until this year, that is," Stella said coldly.

"I know I've been a terrible sister. But you know that I just haven't been myself over the past year," I said, sitting on the bed to try and comfort her.

"Yeah, but V, we could have helped. That's what family is for; to get you through all the shit that you can't get through on your own."

"You're right. And I'm sorry. Can you forgive me? When I come home to L.A., you and I will spend so much time together that you'll be sick of me. I don't have another project for a couple of months, so you are at the top of my list. Does that sound okay to you?" I smiled, hoping that this would cheer her up.

"I guess so," she said quietly and with a slight smile. "But only if you promise that we can go shopping every weekend, to make up for all of the shopping trips that we missed while you were in hiding, or working, or whatever it is you claim to have been doing," Stella said with a laugh. If she was joking around with me, I knew she had forgiven me.

"I actually was working, but yeah, lots of shopping to make up for lost time sounds great."

"Okay, cool," Stella said. She paused for a moment and bounced slightly on the bed, looking nervous.

"Spit it out, kid," I said with a laugh. I could always tell when she had something to say because she started to fidget with something, in this case the hem of her tank top.

"Oh, well, I just had something that I needed to tell you. And please don't get mad at me. Because I'm really happy about this and I want you to be happy about it too, but I don't want you to think that I am doing this to rub it in your face or anything. Or that I'm trying to make you feel bad, because I'm really not." Stella said all this very quickly, refusing to make eye contact.

"Stella, just say it. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad. And if you're happy about it, then I'm sure I will be too," I said.

Stella took a deep breath. "Um, Nessa, I'm engaged," she said quietly, peering at me out of the corner of her eye to gauge my reaction.

"What?!" I shrieked, bouncing on the bed in excitement. "Tyler finally proposed?! Stella, that's amazing!" She held up her left hand and I grabbed it, admiring the large, square cut diamond on her ring finger. "But why on earth would you think that I'd be mad at you for that?" I laughed, unable to contain my joy for my younger sister.

"Well, I mean, we all thought that you would be married by now. You know? So I kind of assumed that you'd be upset. Especially with Dylan getting married, I thought you might feel jealous or something. I'm not sure. But you're really not mad?"

"No, Stella. Or course I'm not mad. I'm so happy for you! Tell me more! When's the wedding, where are you getting married, am I going to get to be a bridesmaid?" I asked excitedly.

"Okay, V, slow down and breathe. We only got engaged yesterday. We left last night to drive up here, and…"

"Tyler came with you? Where is he?!" I interrupted

"He's downstairs with everyone. And yes he came with me. Now let me finish. We left yesterday, and we stopped in Santa Barbara and had dinner. And then he took me to the beach right at sunset and he proposed. It was the cheesiest moment of my entire life, but also the most romantic." Stella beamed, obviously unable to contain her excitement.

"Oh, Stella, I'm so, so, so happy for you. That's amazing. And Tyler is such a great guy. I know that you two are going to be so happy together," I said and gave her a huge hug. I truly was happy for her, but it made me sad to think that at the same time that she was starting her life with Tyler, I was ending mine with Zac. "Well I am so happy for you Stella. You'll have to let me help you plan everything! To make up for being such a lousy sister this past year."

"Well, only if you promise to be a better maid of honor than you've been a sister over the past year."

I shrieked in excitement and hugged Stella again. "You want me to be your maid of honor? Stella, I'd love to!" We both giggled in excitement for a moment.

"Good I'm glad. And I hate to ruin the fun, but you need to get your butt downstairs. You've got some explaining to do." Stella laughed and shoved me playfully.

I stood up off of the bed and held my hand out to her. "Will you come with me, for moral support?" I asked, and made my best pleading, puppy dogface. Stella grabbed my hand and I pulled her up from the bed. Still holding hands, we made our way downstairs so that I could face Starla and the rest of the family.

When we walked into the living room where the whole family was gathered, Dylan gave a loud whistle and hollered "Yeah, V! Getting back into the action!" He was immediately smothered with pillows from both sides, his father on the right and Zac on his left, whom I hadn't noticed sitting there. I wondered how long he had been there and if he had explained the whole situation to the family so that I didn't have to.

Starla looked at me sternly for a moment, and I was worried. But then she broke into a smile and a laugh, easing my fears, and said, "Vanessa, sweetheart, you are no James Bond. I don't think that there is much potential in your future for being the next big action star."

"That's exactly what Stella told me," I laughed.

"And not to worry, Zac told us about last night," Starla continued.

"Oh good," I said, not really sure what else to say.

"So who's ready for lunch?" Starla asked, heading into the kitchen. Everyone got up from their places in the living room enthusiastically, following Starla into the kitchen. I watched as they all fought over serving utensils and elbowed each other out of the way to get to the food. I laughed, loving every moment of being around this family that loved each other so much and always had such a great time together. Stella dropped my hand and held on Tyler's as he brushed past us to walk into the kitchen.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zac come up and stand next to me. I sighed and said, still not looking at him, "You want to know what makes me sadder about us more than almost anything else?"

I saw him turn and face me. "What?" He said quietly, with concern in his voice.

"I had really hoped that someday I'd be able to call your family my own someday," I said, turning to look at him after I had spoken.

He took my hand gently. "You still can. Just because we're what we are doesn't mean that they're not your family. And I'm sure that every single one of them would tell you the exact same thing. They'll love you forever, Ness. No matter what happens with us." He smiled and dropped my hand.

"Thanks, Zac." I said with a small smile.

"Anytime. Now let's go eat, I'm starving." He said with a wink and walked into the kitchen. I waited a moment and then followed him, walking into the kitchen to join my family.

After lunch, we decided to hold another poker tournament. All the women of the family starting out in one game, and all of the men started in another. The last three remaining players from the two games faced off in one final match. In the end, I sat on the floor around the large coffee table in the living room with Zac, both of his parents and his brother, and one of his aunts. As the game went on, Starla was eliminated, follow shortly by Zac's aunt. David was the next player out, and several hands later, Dylan went out as well.

Zac and I sat across the table from each other, all of his family members crowded around us. We went through two rounds of betting, both of us raising the stakes each time. I felt confident in my three of a kind, but I had always had a difficult time when it came to reading Zac during a poker game. Compared to many of the rest of his family members, I was an excellent poker player. But compared to Zac, I was an amateur. I threw another small stack of chips into the middle of the table, on top of the already large pile that included all of Zac's remaining chips.

I looked him in the eyes for several moments and raised an eyebrow. "What's it gonna be, Efron?"

He looked at me for a few moments before throwing his cards face down on the table. "I fold. You got me, Hudgens," he said with a smile and a shrug.

I shrieked with excitement and all of the family standing around me gave me hugs and pats on the back. Winning meant nothing really, but in the Efron family, defeating Zac at his own game was a big deal.

"Well, guys, we've got a bachelor party to get to!" Dylan said beaming as he got up from the couch, stretching. "Zac, please tell me that you're going to come. I know it's only the day before the wedding, but I have absolutely no problem taking away your title of best man."

Zac sighed and stood up as well. "I guess I'll come with you; only because if I don't, I'll never hear the end of it."

Dylan beamed and slapped him on the back. "Alright, let's go guys." Dylan, Zac and other men of the family headed out of the living room.

I watched as David kissed Starla on his way out, saying, "Don't worry honey; I'll keep the boys in line."

"You better. Don't let my baby go too crazy," she said playfully.

"Mom, you really need to stop calling me your baby. I'm getting married tomorrow, I'm not your baby anymore." Dylan said with a groan.

"You'll be my baby until the day you die, sweetie. You're going to have to learn to deal with it," she said, reaching up to ruffle Dylan's hair. He bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek before following his father out the back door.

Zac gave his mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek as he passed also.

"You'll always be my baby too," Starla said with a smile. Zac nodded and returned her smile, along with a wink as he followed his father, brother and uncles out the door.

The rest of the women in the family dispersed; most of them heading into the kitchen to help Starla clean up the mess that had been left in the wake of lunch. I watched Stella and Tyler head out the back door, hand in hand, to sit in the hammock hanging from a tree in the backyard.

I sat alone on the couch for a moment, before deciding to clean up the chips and cards from the poker game. I reached across the table to pick up the cards that had been in Zac's hand. I flipped them over to add them to the pile of cards already in my hand. I gasped when I saw the two jacks and three nines in his hand. A full house, which, if had Zac had not folded, would have beaten my three of a kind by more than three hands.

******Author's Note: Up next, the wedding! What will happen when Zac and Aaron meet? How will Vanessa feel about seeing Aaron again? **

**The next chapter is already under way, and I personally love it. Can't wait for you guys to read it. It will definitely be up tonight!**

**xoxo**

**-Annie**


	11. Chapter 11: The Wedding

******Author's Note: Next chapter. The wedding ceremony! Sorry it took so long, I had classes today. Yuck. Read, review, and enjoy!**

Eleven- Arrival

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully and I went to bed early. I was exhausted, even though I had not really done anything that day.

I awoke on Saturday morning feeling anxious. I didn't really know what to think about the wedding and how it was going to be. And was I supposed to introduce Aaron to Zac? And if I did introduce them, what on earth was I supposed to say? 'Zac, this is the new guy I've been kissing. Aaron, this is the man that I was with for nine years and am still in love with.' Somehow I didn't see that going over so well. I just prayed that maybe I wouldn't even be put in the situation to introduce them at all.

I got out of bed, and after taking a shower and doing my hair and makeup, slipped on the dress that I had bought for the occasion. It was a short, gold strapless pleated dress with which I paired my favorite gold Jimmy Choo high heels.

I heard a knock on the door. "Ness, are you almost ready? We're leaving in five minutes," I heard Stella say through the door.

"Yeah, give me two seconds." I put my phone, a lip-gloss, and a pack of gum into a black clutch. I checked my hair and make-up one more time in the mirror before opening the door to meet Stella.

"Um, wow, Ness." Stella said, her mouth gaping.

"What? Is there something wrong? Do I look awful?" I said, looking myself up and down praying that there wasn't something on my dress.

"No, the exact opposite. V, you look amazing. Zac is going to die," she said with a sight smile. I blushed, never liking when people gave me compliments. Even after years of being a considered a "sex symbol", I wasn't comfortable with it. In my own eyes, I was still a scrawny girl who was never quite exotic enough to be exotic, yet not plain enough to be the girl next door.

"Well you look amazing yourself. Tyler is going to want to get married today instead of waiting," I said with a wink as I admired her flowing floral dress.

"Thanks," she said, beaming at me. It was obvious that she still had not gotten over the giddiness of being newly engaged. "But we've got to go, V. Or we're going to be late."

We went downstairs to find the house empty. Stella, Tyler and I were the last to leave for the wedding that was taking place just a few minutes away at a local country club. In the car on the way over, I sat in the back seat of Stella's car and watched Tyler and Stella affectionately holding hands while Tyler drove. Each time Stella would give him the next direction of where to turn, he would softly kiss the back of her hand. Watching them made me so happy, but at the same time very sad. It reminded me of how Zac and I used to be.

I was growing more and more nervous about seeing both Aaron and Zac as we pulled up to the country club. Tyler pulled into the valet station and handed him Stella's keys, as I was helped out of the car by another valet. The smile on his face and his holding onto my hand a second too long told me that he knew who I was, and I gave him a sweet smile and thanked him. I realized that I did not have long to prepare myself for the first of the two meetings that I was anxious about when I saw Zac several yards away handing out programs, standing inside the entrance to the garden where the ceremony would take place.

Stella and Tyler walked up before me, and Zac was talking to them as I approached, my heart practically beating out of my chest. Zac turned from talking to Stella as she walked away and our eyes met. I saw quickly look me up and down, but I was too busy to pay attention to his reaction to how I looked. I was too stunned by his own appearance; he was wearing a dark navy tuxedo that made his eyes seem even more brilliantly blue, and his dark brown hair was pushed back into the wavy, messy style that had always been my favorite. We both tried to speak at the same time, but neither of us really knew what to say.

After a moment, he gently kissed my cheek and said, "Vanessa, you look absolutely amazing." I stammered a quiet 'thank you' and took the program that he held out towards me. Our hands touched as I grabbed the program, and I held on for a moment to maintain the contact.

"You… Uh, you look great Zac," I managed to finally stammer, his blue eyes piercing into mine, making it impossible for me to form another complete thought. He smiled and dropped his hand. I turned and slowly walked to sit down next to Stella. My heart was still racing and I was having trouble breathing normally. When I sat down, my hands were shaking in my lap.

"Ness, you okay?" Stella whispered.

"What, huh? Yeah, of course; I just, uh, can't wait for the wedding to start," I said shakily. Stella looked at me for a moment, obviously not believing that was why I was so worked up, but then she turned and started talking to Tyler again. I tried to breathe as normally as possible, but it wasn't easy. I turned around slightly in my seat to look back at where Zac was standing. To my amazement, he was looking right at me. I whipped back around, and any level of easy breathing that I had reached a moment before was now in the past. My breath was coming in short, quick gasps.

"Okay, seriously Vanessa," Stella said, turning toward me again. "Are you having an asthma attack over there or something?"

"Um, I think I just have something in my throat. I'll just go get a drink of water," I mumbled quickly. I wasn't sure if my legs would hold me up, but I needed them to so that I could find somewhere that wasn't in Zac's presence where I could calm down. In an effort to avoid walking past Zac and risking further hyperventilation, I walked across the front of the garden and into the clubhouse, looking for a restroom. I turned a corner and walked straight into a man giving his jacket to the coat checkers.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I mumbled, but then the man turned around and I looked up at him in surprise. "Aaron, hi!" I said with a slight smile, still not having fully encountered from my encounter with Zac.

"Vanessa, hi. Wow, you look great." He said giving me a hug. "How are you?" He asked with a sweet smile.

"I… I'm good," I said, trying as hard as I could to not give off any signs that I was far from good. The image of Zac's blue eyes piercing mine was burned into my memory, and I could still feel where his lips had touched my cheek. I felt like the room was spinning at the memory of his scent and the feel of his lips on my skin. "So, how was San Francisco?" I asked, trying to focus on something other than Zac.

"It was good. I have family up there, so I got to visit with them. Which was nice. But it was mostly for business. A small film studio based up there is trying to turn one of my books into a movie, so I went to talk to them about it. It looks like it might actually happen." He beamed, looking genuinely excited. I heard what he said and took it in, but I was not able to fully react as I usually might have, being too preoccupied with other thoughts.

"That's great, Aaron!" I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

"Are you sure you're alright, Vanessa? You look a little flustered." Aaron said, taking my hands in his.

"Yes, I'm alright. I actually just need to find the ladies room."

"Oh gosh, so sorry to keep you. I think it's right down that hallway," he said, pointing back the direction from which I had come a few moments before.

"Great, thanks," I said, turning to walk away. But Aaron held onto my hand and pulled me back.

"Vanessa, I hope you'll still save me a dance at the reception." Aaron said quietly, looking directly into my eyes. His eyes were blue, but not in the same way as Zac's, they were deeper and darker. He smiled when I nodded slowly, not able to formulate any words. "Good, because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you these past two days. And I'm glad you haven't changed your mind about this," he said softly, taking my other hand so that he was holding both of mine in one of his. With the other hand he softly brushed my cheek.

"Aaron, I really need to…" I started to say, but I was cut off when his lips came down to meet mine. I had wondered what the second kiss would be like, and this was it. I didn't resist, but I didn't give in either. I stood motionless for a moment, letting him kiss me. But then I stepped back and said quickly, "I really need to go."

I pulled my hands out of his and took another step back. I turned and walked quickly towards the ladies room. Once inside, I leaned against the wall and tried as hard as I could to keep the tears that were welling up in my eyes from spilling over. I heard the door start to open, and I tried to compose myself as quickly as possible.

"Nessa, you in here?" I heard my sister's voice inquire softly.

"Y…Yeah, I am." I stammered.

"Sis, what's wrong?" She asked, upon seeing me as shaken as I was. I described to her my reaction to seeing Zac and the way that it made me feel. "Ness, you were in love with him for nine years, it's totally normal that you would react that way." She said softly. I went on to explain to her about Aaron, from our first meeting to the kiss a few moments before, summarizing it as quickly as I could. When I had finished, I stood in silence for a moment, waiting for her reaction. "Nessa, you're dealing with so much right now with just one man. You really think it's smart to get someone else involved in this mess too?"

"I honestly didn't mean to, Stella. I don't know how it happened, it just did. And now I don't know what to do. I know that I shouldn't be doing this with Aaron. It's just too complicated. Especially when my feelings for Zac are as strong as they still are. But it's a little late to wish I hadn't started things with Aaron, isn't it?" I said uncertainly.

"It's never too late, V. You can still fix this. You just need to tell Aaron the truth. From what you've told me, he seems like a decent man; he'll understand. You can just tell him it's not your fault that you're a sucker for guys with blue eyes," she said with a laugh. But I really wasn't in the mood to joke about it. When she saw my serious expression, she spoke again, more seriously this time. "Vanessa, listen to me. You haven't done anything wrong. You can't help that you had feelings for Aaron. But you also can't help that you have even stronger feelings for Zac. I hate to break it to you, but those feelings are probably never going to go away, Ness. What you and Zac had is deeper and stronger than anything else I've ever seen in my life. I wish that Tyler and I had that. And maybe someday we might. And I'm not telling you that you should go running back to Zac, because you do have valid reasons for being apart from him. But I do think, personally, that it would be wise to end things with Aaron. You're just too vulnerable right now, Ness. And I would hate to see you get too wrapped up in someone else and then to fall apart again. It would kill me to see you in this much pain ever again. So can you do something for me?" I nodded. "Whatever you do, just be honest. With both Aaron and Zac. And don't wait too long to make a decision. From what it sounds like, Aaron is already getting attached to you. And I know that you're not the type of person who would ever hurt someone on purpose. So whatever you decide, it needs to be soon. Can you do that?"

I nodded again. Everything that she said was so true. It made me feel better, but also made me realize that I had a hard decision ahead of me.

"So, we really need to get back out there. It's going to start any minute," Stella said softly, taking my hand. "You're gonna be okay, V. I know it." She smiled at me and I did the best that I could to smile back. "Come on, smile. You didn't get dressed up like that to come and be sad. Be happy for Dylan on his big day!" She said, nudging me gently. I smiled back at her and we exited the bathroom, still hand in hand.

We went and sat back down at our seats. Dylan was standing at the altar with Zac and three other groomsmen by his side, looking nervous but excited. The music for the bridal procession started only moments after Stella and I sat down. When it did, my eyes met Zac's, and we smiled at each other. We continued to look at each other as Kelsey came down the aisle, and it wasn't until I heard 'You may now kiss the bride' that my eyes left his. I watched Kelsey and Dylan walk down the aisle, and felt a tear roll down my cheek.

I looked back at Zac, still standing on the altar, and saw him smiling at me, with tears welled up in his eyes, but not yet spilling over like mine. It was in that moment that I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I had made up my mind. At that moment, Zac was the only other person in the world. But I realized even more than that: he was my world. And although it had been shattered before, I now knew with total certainty that even if it took a while, we could build our world back up again. Together.

******Author's Note: What will Vanessa tell Aaron, and what will she tell Zac? What will happen at the wedding reception?**

**I hope you guys like this one, I'm pretty happy with it. The next chapter may be up tonight, but if not it will definitely be up tomorrow. I can't wait for you guys to read the next one, it should be pretty exciting!**

**xoxo**

**-Annie**


	12. Chapter 12: The Reception

******Author's Note: Hey guys! The next chapter. I'm pretty pleased with this one, so tell me what you think. I hope you guys love it as much as I do! I'm exhaused, and I should be asleep, but I wanted to post this before I went to bed. Couldn't wait for you guys to read it! Just a little note: the words in italics are song lyrics. Next chapter should be up tomorrow. But with this one, read, review and enjoy!**

Twelve- Reception

After the wedding, I couldn't wait to talk to Zac, to ask him if he had felt the same things that I had during the ceremony. But I also knew that I had to talk to Dylan and congratulate him. I made my way into the large, white tent that had been set up for the reception. The inside was beautifully decorated with white lilies everywhere, and easily a hundred tables draped with white tablecloths and gorgeous centerpieces with even more lilies.

Although I wanted to find Zac, Stella pulled me along behind her to get to our table. We were close enough to the table of the bridal party that I was hoping to find Zac easily. But he was nowhere to be found. There were easily already a hundred people in the tent, and there were still more filing in through the entrances on either end.

On a platform in the middle of one of the long walls of the tent was a long, table at which the bridal party would be sitting. The rest of the tables were smaller and round, and they surrounded a large wooden dance floor that had been laid out. Stella, Tyler and I were at a table with a few of Zac's cousins who were around our same ages.

Tyler and Stella pulled their chairs closer together and starting talking and laughing together as I scanned the growing crowd for Zac. There was a DJ set up at one end of the bridal party platform, and he had already begun playing soft jazz to set the mood for the meal that was to be served shortly. As I was looking around, I heard the DJ announce, "Would everyone please find his or her table, as the service of the first course is going to begin shortly."

I eagerly scanned the crowd, hoping Zac would be easier to find now that most of the people were taking their seats. But none of the bridal party was anywhere to be found. The salads were brought around to each table, and I just sat and stared at mine, looking up in anticipation each time I heard a male voice close by. After the salads, the main course was brought out, and I had stopped looking. I picked at my chicken with my fork more than I actually ate it, and I made small talk at the table with Stella and the others. After the dishes for the main course had been cleared, the DJ's voice came back on over the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the members of the bridal party!" He named off each of the names of the members of the party, including Zac, as they entered from the front of the tent. Zac stood across the dance floor in a line with the three other groomsmen, Dylan's friends from college, and he looked around the room just as I had been doing a few minutes before. He saw me sitting directly across from him, and when our eyes met a wide smile spread across his face, the kind that I had not seen in over a year. I knew that he had felt the same thing that I had during the ceremony.

"Now, if you would all join me in welcoming, for the first time as husband and wife, Dylan and Kelsey Efron!" The DJ announced, and everyone stood and cheered as Dylan and Kelsey made their entrance. I kept my eyes on Zac as they danced their first dance, and then as Kelsey danced with her father and Dylan danced with Starla. More and more people started to file onto the dance floor, and I tried to keep Zac in my sight, but he got lost in the crowd. I stood up to try and see if I could find Zac easier that way, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned excitedly, hoping it would be Zac.

"Oh, Aaron. Hi." I said quietly, disappointed.

"So how about that dance that you promised me," Aaron said with a wide smile. I turned around and tried to look for Zac in the crowd, but Aaron took my turning towards the dance floor as accepting his offer, and dragged me out on the floor. A slow song that I recognized from years before came on, and Aaron held me close as we turned in slow circles on the dance floor, surrounded by a large crowd of others.

_You're in my arms_

_And all the world is gone_

_The music playing on_

_For only two_

_So close together_

_And when I'm with you_

_So close to feeling alive_

I continued to scan the crowd for Zac, becoming somewhat desperate. "What is it, Vanessa?" I heard Aaron asked, but I didn't acknowledge. I had to find him. "Vanessa," Aaron said more seriously, stopping our movement. "Who the hell are you looking for?" I looked up at him for the first time.

"Zac. I'm looking for Zac. Look, Aaron, there's something that I need to say to you." Aaron looked down at me, puzzled, but nodded as he resumed our slow turning dance. "I think you're an amazing guy. You're kind, and funny, and charming, and an all around decent man. And I have had a great time getting to know you the past two days. But I've been lying to you and to myself. Maybe not lying directly, but I've been denying the truth about the situation that I'm in, and about us."

"I don't understand what you're trying to say," Aaron said quietly.

_A life goes by_

_Romantic dreams must die_

_So I bid mine goodbye_

_And never knew _

_So close was waiting_

_Waiting here with you_

_And now, forever, I know_

_All that I want is to hold you_

_So close_

"Aaron, I'm in love with Zac. I've never stopped being in love with him. And I'm sorry that I let things happen with us the way that they did. I think when I met you I thought that maybe you could fill the void that Zac had left. But the truth is, he's the only one for me. The only one there's ever been, and the only one there ever will be. And I'm truly sorry if I gave you any false hopes or impressions. That wasn't my goal. You kind of caught me by surprise, and I didn't know what I was doing. I hope that you won't hate me forever.

_So close to reaching_

_That famous happy end_

_Almost believing_

_This one's not pretend_

_Now you're beside me_

_And look how far we've come_

_So far_

_We are_

_So close..._

Aaron scanned the crowd for a moment and was silent, before looking down into my eyes. "I don't hate you, Vanessa. I don't think anyone on the planet could ever hate you. Don't worry, I understand. I guess it would have been hard to make this work anyways, what with me living in New York and you living in L.A. But can I ask you just one thing?" I nodded. "How can you be sure that he's not going to do it again? He broke your heart once, what's to say that he won't do it again," Aaron said simply. There was no competition or anger in his voice; he sounded more concerned than anything.

_Oh, how could I face the faceless days_

_If I should lose you now?_

_We're so close to reaching_

_That famous happy end_

_Almost believing_

_This one's not pretend_

_Let's go on dreaming_

_Though we know we are_

_So close_

_So close, and still_

_So far..._

"Well, I guess I have no way of being certain. Except that I know him. I've known him for 10 years, I know him better than I know myself. I know every look and every touch. And because I have faith in us."

"I guess that's fair. Well I guess if you're sure and that's your decision, there's nothing I can really do is there? I don't want to be the person to get in the way of a love like that."

"I really am sorry, Aaron."

"Don't be. I'll survive. So you said that you were looking for Zac when we first started dancing. Did you find him?" Aaron asked.

"No, I didn't. There are too many people here," I said with a sigh. Aaron stepped away from me and nodded his head in the direction over my shoulder.

"Can I cut in?" I heard a recognizable voice say from behind me, as I felt the warm, familiar touch of Zac's fingers intertwining with mine. I turned and beamed at him.

"Of course you can. Just one second," I told Zac, before turning back to face Aaron. "Thank you, Aaron, for being so understanding about all of this. You really are a great man." I stretched up to kiss him lightly on the cheek.

"Goodbye, Vanessa Hudgens. Keep in touch, okay?"

"I will, Aaron Saunders. I promise. Goodbye," I said with a smile, watching him turn and disappear into the crowd.

Zac pulled me close to him and wrapped his arms around me as the song changed. It was another I recognized from years ago, this one even more memorable.

_Traveler of the great divides_

_Vagrant on a path to life_

_Everyday feels a little closer_

_To where it is that you're headed for_

_Given to a hope of so much more_

"Zac this song…"

"Was playing the first time that I told you I loved you, Vanessa. I may have put in a request to the DJ." He said with a wink.

"Zac, I feel like I should explain to you about…"

"About Aaron? There's no need, Vanessa. I was actually just talking to Stella. She told me about him. Or at least what she knows."

"I'm sorry, Zac," I said quietly.

"Why on earth are you saying sorry, Ness? You did absolutely nothing wrong."

"But I feel like I betrayed you. It was stupid of me to ever even think about getting involved with Aaron."

"Vanessa, look at me. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who broke your heart a year ago. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you having feelings for someone else. It would be rather selfish of me to hope that you never cared about anyone else for the rest of your life."

"But Zac, you need to know that Aaron wasn't really anything. You're the only person that I've ever actually…"

"I know, Ness. I know." We were silent for a moment as we listened to the song that had held so much meaning for us so many years ago.

_For every time you fall apart_

_There'll be a soul to guide your journey_

_But if you choose to turn away_

_There in the mirror_

_You'll see my face_

_You'll see my face_

"So what do we do next?" I asked hesitantly. "I mean, you've felt it too, haven't you? Yesterday, and especially today during the ceremony."

"Yeah, Ness. I felt it. And I'm honestly not sure what we do next. Do you still feel the way that you did on Thursday? That you think we need to try and define ourselves individually before we can be together?"

Here in his arms, it was so hard to pretend that it hadn't always been like this. It felt so perfect. I paused for a moment before answering. "Zac, it's nearly impossible for me to be with you here now and to ever imagine anything else and ever being apart from you again. But all of the things that I told you at your, my, our house the other day, they're all still true. But I honestly don't think that I have the strength to walk away from you again."

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Because I know for a fact that I don't have the strength to watch you go."

_Think you're on this road alone_

_Looking for a truth untold_

_Many times you've been close to breaking_

_Giving up and letting go_

_Something inside says it's not over_

"But Zac, things can't just go back. We can't pretend that this past year never happened. Because I'm still afraid that I might not be able to trust you now."

"I know, Ness. I know. And if we do this, I'm going to spend the rest of my life proving to you that I love you and that I am never going to leave you again. If you give me the chance, I will prove to you how much I love you and that I'm never, ever going to let you go. I told you that I was going to love you forever, and I meant it, Ness. I meant it."

" I know you did, Zac. And I'm willing to give us another try. But we really just need to take it slow. I need to learn to trust you again. So I guess you'll be here in your house, and I'll be in L.A. in mine. And we'll see each other whenever we can."

"Long distance, really?"

_For every time you fall apart_

_There'll be a soul to guide your journey_

_But if you choose to turn away_

_There in the mirror_

_You'll see my face_

"I think that it would be good for us, Zac. Being together but with some distance between us would be a good way for us to ensure that we don't just pick up where we left off," I said with a smile.

"You're right. It'll be hard, but I think it's something that I can live with," Zac said with a smile as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "This is going to work. We're going to make this work."

"Yes, it is. And we are," I said, smiling up at him. I thought that my heart was going to burst, but this time it was not out of pain. My heart was so full of love and joy that I didn't think that there was any way it could possibly even contain it all.

_And when the world crowds your space_

_Remember days when noise was silent_

_No empty vows, loveless displays_

_Just a sense of knowing_

_You'd see my face_

_You'd see my face_

"So can I tell you a secret, Ness?" Zac asked, with a twinkle in his eye. I nodded. "I am utterly, completely, hopelessly, and eternally in love with you, Vanessa Anne Hudgens," Zac said, his blue eyes gazing directly into mine. If I hadn't known it from the sincerity in his voice, the look in his eyes would have told me that it was one hundred percent true.

I wanted to cry and laugh and scream and sing and dance all at the same time, I was so happy. But here, on the middle of a crowded dance floor at his brother's wedding, feeling like there was no one else in the world but the two of us, I settled for looking him in the eyes and saying, "And I am utterly, completely, hopelessly, and eternally in love with you, Zachary David Alexander Efron." We just looked at each other for a few moments, both smiling uncontrollably. The room could have been burning down around us, but we wouldn't have known.

"So I guess there's only one thing left to ask…" Zac said.

"What's that?" I asked, confused.

"Vanessa Anne Hudgens, will you go out on a date with me tomorrow?" He said with a smile and a wink.

"Zac, there is nothing that I would love more." I beamed up at him and ran my fingers through his hair.

He softly brushed the hair from my face, and then gently, holding my face in both of his hands, brought his lips to mine. It was the moment that I had been anticipating for the last year and a half. The familiar feel of his lips on mine brought back more memories than I could even count, and gave me hope for infiniteness ones to come. The kiss had the gentleness and sweetness of a first kiss, but the power of a kiss that is only shared between two people who are completely and irrevocably in love. It was the first kiss of the rest of our life together.

******Author's Note: Now that Zac and Vanessa are finally back together, what will their family members think? And what will they do on their "first date". Stay tuned to find out!**

**For those of you who are interested, the songs, in order, are "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin, and "The Face" by RyanDan. They're both beautiful songs. I highly suggest looking them up on youtube or itunes. Whatever you do to find music. **

**I should have a chapter or two up tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll get two done, but I should definitely be able to get one finished! Please keep up the amazing reviews. Getting good reviews motivates me to update faster!**

**xoxo**

**-Annie**


	13. Chapter 13: First Date

****Author's Note: Well, here it is! Again, I am SO sorry that it took me so damn long to write and post this! I truly hope that it was worth the wait, but I apologize if it's not. It might not be my best chapter, I'm finishing it after a really long busy day, so I'm a little out of it. But enough rambling. ENJOY!**

Thirteen- First Date

I woke up the next morning afraid that everything that happened at the wedding and the reception had been a dream. I rolled over in bed to check my phone, and I had two text messages. Both were from Zac. I smiled as I read the first message.

_Good morning, beautiful. Can't wait to see you today. _

I began to panic, however, when I read the second message.

_Coming over for lunch with the family. See you in about an hour, pretty girl!_

I looked at the time of his text and at the current time; I had twenty minutes to get ready. For some reason, I was nervous to see him. With things between us finally back on track, it was like starting a new relationship. I had the same butterflies that I'd had before our very first date over ten years ago.

I rushed around the room getting ready. I was hopping across the room, trying to put my shoe on as I made my way to the bathroom to finish my makeup when Stella opened the door. She stood there laughing at me for a moment as I made my way into the bathroom. She sat down on the bed as I stumbled into the bathroom, finally getting my shoe on.

"Ness, your boyfriend is downstairs," Stella said, practically singing the word 'boyfriend'. "He just got here. And we're about to eat lunch."

"Oh my god, he's here already? But I'm not ready. I haven't finished my makeup, and I don't even know if I like this outfit, and…"

Stella cut me off. "Ness. Zac has known you for ten years. He's seen you looking like absolute shit. It's not like you have to look perfect. And besides, you look nice already. Just come downstairs so that we can eat."

"But Stella, you don't understand. It's like we're starting over, like today is our first date. I don't even know, I'm just really nervous and excited!"

"Okay, well Nessa I understand why you're nervous. But you really just need to come down. Especially since Zac is down there practically dancing, he seems so happy and excited to see you."

"Really?" I blushed and a huge smile spread across my face. "Well I guess I shouldn't keep him waiting, right?"

"Exactly. Come on, let's go eat." Stella grabbed my hand and we went downstairs together, hand-in-hand. We arrived downstairs to see the entire Efron family sitting around the large kitchen table, with random chairs from around the rest of the house squished together so that everyone had a place to sit. The living room couch had even been pulled up to one end of the table.

When we approached the table, Zac stood up and walked quickly over to me, and after an awkward moment where he tried to decide how to greet me in front of his family, he gave me a light kiss and hugged me.

"Oh, come on, man. That's pathetic." Dylan said from the other end of the table, where he was crammed on the couch in between Kelsey and one of his cousins. Starla, who was standing behind the couch, smacked his head and shushed him.

Zac took the hand that Stella had released a moment ago, and we walked and sat down at the table, Zac never letting go of my hand, even when we were sitting. Lunch with the entire Efron family was a lot like pretty much everything else that they all did together- chaos. Plates were being passed every direction to be loaded with food, and more often than not were passed back to the wrong person. The sound of silverware scraping plates and the multiple conversations going on at any given time filled the room.

"So Zac, where are you and V going on this little date of yours?" Dylan said with a sly smile and wink.

"Yeah, Zac, where are we going?" I asked playfully, giving him a little nudge with my shoulder.

"That's none of your business, Dylan." He said, and then turned to me. "And you will find out soon. But it's a surprise." At those words, the entire family let out a collective "Aw", and I blushed.

After we finished eating lunch, we sat and talked with the family for a few minutes. Stella came in from outside, although I hadn't even realized she'd left. She had a triumphant look on her face as she sat back down next to Tyler. She nodded to Zac.

"Well, we're going to get going," Zac said as he took my hand and we both stood up.

"Wait, I have to go get…"

"It's all taken care of. Stella got your things for you," Zac cut me off, and said with a smile. I was confused, but didn't say anything.

I hugged Starla and thanked her for lunch, waved to the rest of Zac's family, and followed him to the door.

"Zac, where are we…" But I was cut off once again, this time by Zac's lips crashing into mine. I completely lost my train of thought as we kissed, and I felt myself melt into his body. Zac pulled away too soon and looked into my eyes.

"Hi," he said with a smile.

"Hi back at you," I said with an even bigger smile on my face. I was practically giddy. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope," Zac said simply as we walked to the car and he opened the door for me. I thanked him and got in. Zac got in and took my hand as we drove away from the house.

We drove for about twenty minutes, during which time Zac never let go of my hand. We spent most of the drive in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. We both knew that just being together was enough; we didn't have to fill every moment with talking.

As he cut the engine and hopped out of the car, coming around to open my car door, I looked around to see where we were. I snorted when I recognized where Zac had brought me, and I looked at him with a smirk on my face. "Boomers, Zac? Really?" I asked, teasing him playfully.

"Hey, you had a lot of fun the first time I brought you here! Remember we came to Boomers the first time you ever came up to here?" He said with a wide grin and a wink.

"Well yeah, I remember. But I was seventeen years old; going on a mini-golf and go-kart date is okay when you're seventeen. When you're twenty seven, it's a little different."

"You're never too old to just have fun. Come on." He said as he took my hand and we walked into the main building to pay for our "day of fun". The girl working at the counter, who looked to be about seventeen, stared up at us in awe.

"So you two ARE still together!" She said triumphantly, grinning widely. "I always knew it. You guys are just, like, meant to be." Zac and I both just smiled politely and laughed quietly as Zac paid and then we made our way back outside to play mini-golf.

I was used to my daily outings being all over the internet and in magazines. Over the time that Zac and I had been apart, there had been endless speculation in the media as to why we hadn't been seen together. With Zac giving up his acting career, and me being out of LA for almost a year straight, rumors had run wild. Some people claimed that Zac and I had secretly gotten married, while others claimed that I ended things because he was cheating, and still others claimed that he ended things because of my success. It always amazed me the ridiculous rumors that people could come up with that weren't based on any facts at all. And this past year had supplied more than enough evidence that people would go to any lengths to come up with a story.

As we played mini-golf, I was reminded of why I had always loved to be with Zac so much. He could make me laugh harder and more often than anyone I knew. And it was the little things that he did that were proof of how much he loved me. He held my hand or gave me piggyback rides as walked between holes, or stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist when I was trying to take my turn.

This was one reason why we had always loved coming up here to visit his family; whenever we went out, we were not constantly hounded by the paparazzi. The first few years we dated, we were more discreet and tried not to show PDA whenever possible. But even later on, when we didn't care as much about hiding anything, it was always a nice break to come up here and not have to worry about any of it.

When we got to the last hole, our scores were tied. I was preparing to take the putt that would give me the win when, just as I pulled the club back to hit the golf ball, Zac picked me up from behind. The ball went flying off the course and into the small, artificial pond near by, while my club went flying into the bushes off the side of the hole.

"Oh, I can't believe it! Hudgens loses it at the last second!" Zac said loudly, in his best imitation of a sports announcer. I laughed uncontrollably as he spun me around. He put me down and I turned to face him, putting on my best angry face.

"You jerk. I was totally gonna beat you."

"Maybe. But I had to redeem myself after the poker tournament. I can't let you win everything!" I laughed and wrapped his arms around his neck, stretching up to kiss him. After a few moments, I pulled away and smiled.

"I never asked you to let me win. You did that all on your own, Mr. Efron. But I'm glad that you did"

"Yeah, I know. That's why I did it. Had to do what I could to make you happy."

"Well it worked. I'm very happy. Happier than I've been in a very, very long time." I said with a wide smile, as I stretched up to kiss him again.

He pulled away after a minute and took my hand, starting to walk backwards. "So I think a tie-breaker is in order. Go-karts?" He asked with a sly smile.

"You're on," I said and he pulled me onto his back for another piggyback ride as we headed toward the go-kart track.

Ten minutes later, I emerged victorious from the go-kart race, jumping up and down as if I had just won the lottery.

"I beat you, I beat you, I beat you! I'm the winner!" I teased in a singsong voice, dancing around him in circles. I was spinning around him when he grabbed me and pulled me in close. I rested my head on his chest, and he laid his head on top of mine. I was so happy that I never wanted to let go.

Zac voiced exactly what I had been thinking. "Can it just be like this forever?" He asked quietly, his voice low and soft. "I don't know what I'm going to do watching you walk away tomorrow."

I pulled away and looked up into his eyes. "Will you do me a favor?" He nodded. "Can we not talk about it until the moment comes? I really don't want to think about it." I said quietly. He nodded again, but didn't say anything.

After a moment, he pulled away and took my hand, heading back to the car. "Come on. Time for phase two."

I was confused, but followed him back to the car and climbed in when he opened the door. We talked for most of the thirty-minute car ride, and Zac spent most of the time either holding my hand while he drove. I recognized the neighborhood that we were in when Zac began to slow down.

My heart started to rush slightly when I saw the house. My house. Our house. I had learned the first time I was here that this house was meant for us to live in someday. But now it meant more; now that us living here together someday was a reality, it was like I was truly seeing and appreciating the house for the first time.

Zac grabbed a black bag out of the backseat that I had not noticed before, and I realized that it was my own purse. I gave him a quizzical look. "Stella helped me out a little." He said with a shrug and a wink.

We walked inside, hand-in-hand, and headed straight for the kitchen. Zac set the bag down on the floor by the counter, and turned to me. "Hungry?" He asked.

"I'm starving."

"Good. Cause I'm making dinner, so you can just sit down right there." He said, pulling a chair at the counter out for me so that I could sit down.

"Can I help with anything?"

"Nope, just sit right there and look beautiful," Zac said with a smile before he kissed me softly and turned to start preparing dinner.

I watched him for a while, as he moved around the kitchen like an expert chef. He had cooked dinner for me on countless other occasions, and I had always teased him that he should become a chef, since he liked to cook so much.

"Can I please help with something?" I said after a while, begging him to let me do something.

"Um, sure, I guess you can cut up some vegetables for the salad if you want. I think I have cucumbers and green peppers in the fridge."

"Cool, I'm on it," I said as I hopped down from my stool, walking over to the fridge and pulling out the vegetables that he had mentioned. I used the small knife that he had laid out for me to cut the vegetables up, and I added them to the salad that was in the fridge just as Zac was pulling something out of the oven. "That smells amazing, Zac. What is it?"

"It's just roasted chicken with some secret spices and things that I put on it. And we've got the salad, and I've got some roasted potatoes, since I know those are your favorite."

"Wow, Zac. This all looks so good. Where do you want to eat?"

"Well I was thinking outside would be good, since it's so nice out and we're just in time for the sunset. Do you want to grab some plates out of that cabinet?" He said, nodding his head in the direction of one of the upper cabinets.

"Sure," I said and got out two plates while Zac took the food out to the table on the porch. We met at the door as he made his way inside and made my way outside. He brushed a hair behind my ear and kissed by forehead before lightly kissing my lips and smiling.

"Do you want some wine?" He called from the kitchen.

"Sure," I said as I came back in. He poured a glass of red wine and handed it to me before pouring his own. He wrapped his arm around my waist as we made our way outside.

"Zac, this is amazing," I said after a few minutes of eating, mostly in silence.

"Thanks, baby. Glad you like it."

"I love it. I've missed you cooking for me," I said with a grin.

"Well I've missed cooking for you!" He smiled back. "It's getting a little chilly, I'm going to run in and get a jacket. Do you want one, babe?"

"Sure, that sounds good," I said with a smile as he stood up. On his way past me, he bent and gave me a quick kiss before heading into the house. I sat back in the chair and pulled my legs up to my chest, hugging my knees to keep them close to me so I could stay warm. It really had gotten chilly quickly.

Zac returned a moment later with two zip-up hoodies, a black one for him and my favorite green one for me. He also had a large blanket. Instead of returning to his seat across the table from me, he took my hand and led me down the stairs from the porch to the patio. As I pulled on the hoodie he had given me, we sat down on the bench-swing that hung down from the porch.

I snuggled up close to him and he pulled the blanket over us and then put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. It seemed like every time we touched, we couldn't seem to get close enough. After a year of being apart, it was as if we were afraid to have any distance between us at all. I didn't want to say it out loud, but I was dreading the next day when I would be leaving.

After a few minutes sitting in silence, I heard Zac sigh heavily. "What's wrong, baby?" I asked, concerned.

"Nothing is wrong. Everything it's absolutely perfect. That's what makes this so hard. I know that you said you didn't really want to talk about it, but what are we going to do tomorrow? I've got to be honest, V, I'm not sure that I can survive leaving you again, even if it's only temporary." He looked down at me, and I shifted so that I was looking up into his eyes; his eyes that were welling up with tears.

"Please don't cry, babe. Cause then you'll just set me off. And honestly, I don't know what we're going to do tomorrow. I don't want to watch you walk away either. I know that I said having some distance between us is going to be a good thing, so that we're not just tempted to pick up where we left off. Because I still believe that, Zac, I do. But I really don't want to be apart from you again. After being with you this weekend, I don't think my heart could handle it."

"But you can't stay here because you have to go home to your family," Zac said quietly.

"And you can't go back to L.A. because you sold your house there," I responded. "So what do we do?"

"I'm not sure," Zac said uncertainly, one arm still around my shoulder and the other shoved in the pocket of the hoodie.

"Well, I guess that there is really only one thing that we can do. And before I tell you what it is, you have to know that I did mean those things about not just picking up where we left off. We are going to need to take it slow. But, having said that, I think that the only real option we have is for you to move in with me in L.A."

Zac looked down at me in shock. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I am. I know that I said all of those things about needing distance and how long-distance might be good for us. But I honestly just don't think I can do that, Zac. As hard as it is going to be living with you and telling myself that we're not just jumping back in where we left off, it is going to be a hundred times harder to be far away from you again," I said with a smile. I wasn't totally convinced that it was the best idea, but I knew that it was the only solution that my heart could handle.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that. Leaving you once almost killed me. I wouldn't be able to do it again," Zac said quietly, but with a smile on his face. "You're sure that is okay, and that this is what you want?"

"No, not entirely. I'm not positive that it's the smartest idea. But it's what my heart wants and needs. So I can't really say 'no' to that, can I?"

"I guess not," Zac said with a smile. "Well then while we're on the subject of the future and where we're going next and all that, there's something that I need to ask you."

"Sure, anything," I said.

"Well as you know, I love you more than anything or anyone in the world. I would do anything for you, and I am going to spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you've made me. V, I want to be with you forever. I want to wake up every morning and see your face. I want to cook you dinners, and watch sunsets with you, and someday I want to raise a family with you. I want to spend the rest of my life proving to you how much I love you." Zac reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. When he opened the box to reveal ring with three emerald-cut diamonds, the look on my face must have been a mixture of horror and confusion, because Zac continued quickly before I could say anything. "Before you say anything, I want you to know that I am not asking you to marry right now. I'm not saying I want to get married in the near future. Because I respect what you said about going slow and learning how to be together again. But Ness, I love you so much. And I want to marry you someday and I want to spend the rest of my life trying to make you the happiest person in the world. So, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, will you marry me someday?" He asked with a smile.

His pause before adding the someday made me laugh, and I took my hands out from under the blanket to place them on either side of his face. I pulled him toward me and kissed him passionately. A few moments later, I pulled away with a huge smile on my face. "Zachary David Alexander Efron, I would love to marry you someday," I replied, imitating his pause before the someday. Zac smiled and kissed me again before sliding the ring onto the ring finger of my right hand, rather than my left. I admired the ring before kissing him again.

"Let's go inside," Zac said, and for the first time I noticed that the sun was almost all the way below the horizon and the light was fading fast. Zac grabbed the blanket with one hand and my hand with the other as we stood. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close as we headed up the stairs. I stared at my ring, giddy with awe and excitement, as we walked into the house, into our house. Here I was, walking into the house I was someday going to grow old in, alongside the man that I was going to grow old with, and I couldn't have been happier.

****Author's Note: Well, was it worth the wait?! Let me know what you guys thought. Next chapter will probably be up tomorrow (Saturday). I've had it in my head for a while, so hopefully I should be able to write it pretty quickly! Please read and review, because without all the great feedback that you guys have given me throughout the course of this story, I'm not sure I would've had the motivation to come back to this story. So please keep it up, I LOVE you guys for it, and you really motivate me to update quickly! So thank you!**

**xoxo**

**-Annie**


	14. Chapter 14: Interruption

****Author's Note: Hi Guys! I SUCK, I know! I promise, promise, promise I have no forgotten about this story nor am I abandoning it. To make a long story short, I thought that I would have more time available to write than I have. Summer = working, A LOT. But here is the next chapter. It's short. But I like it. I PROMISE to never go that long without updating again. Cross my heart, hope to die! So ENJOY this, I think you all will. ;) and please keep up the amazing reviews. If it weren't for you guys, I don't think I would have the motivation to stick with this. But here I go, rambling again...**

***Mini-warning: I'm working my way up to the "M" rating. Don't like, don't read.**

Fourteen- Interruption

The next morning, I rolled over in bed to find Zac lying next to me, watching me contently.

"Hi," I said quietly as I stretched my arms up over my head. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long."

"And how long have you been watching me, creep?" I questioned playfully.

"Not long," Zac replied with a smile. "I've just missed having you here in the morning."

"Not nearly as much as I've missed being here," I whispered, as I moved closer to him until I was lying in his arms.

Zac brushed the hair from my face and kissed me, gently at first, but then more passionately. I wrapped my leg around his so that I could pull myself closer to him, as he wrapped his arm tighter around my waist. We both worked to eliminate all of the space between us. He rolled over on top of me and I wrapped my other leg around his waist as well, pulling myself even closer. He rolled over and sat up, bringing me with him so that I was sitting on his lap. His lips never left mine, and our tongues fought feverishly for dominance over each other.

My hands roamed his back and I could feel his doing the same on mine. I found the bottom of the t-shirt he had slept in, and I pulled it up; breaking the kiss only long enough to pull it over his head, leaving him in only his boxers. I ran my hands over his hard, smooth stomach and shoulders and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself even closer to him. His lips left mine and traveled down my jaw to my neck. I let out a soft moan as he bit the spot on my neck that had always been my weakness. My breathing was heavy and my skin burned wherever his lips or hands touched. Zac placed a trail of kisses and gentle bites across my collarbone, and made his way back up the other side of my neck until he found my lips again. Once again, our tongues became entangled in their feverish battle for control.

I slowly pushed Zac backwards so that I was lying on top of him again. Zac slipped his hands under his t-shirt I had worn to bed, leaving what felt like a trail of fire all over my back. I moaned into his mouth, and he deepened the kiss. Zac's phone started ringing on the bedside table, and we both groaned as we sat up. Zac reached for his phone, and glanced at the caller I.D. before answering.

"Dylan, this better be good," Zac said, annoyed. I couldn't hear what his younger brother was saying, but a look of panic and shock immediately washed over Zac's face. I instinctively grabbed his hand, becoming nervous. "Okay, Dylan. We'll be there soon." Zac hung up the phone and sat in silence for a moment, staring at the floor.

"Zac. What's wrong?" I said anxiously, but Zac didn't respond. I put my hands on both sides of his face and turned him to face me. "Babe. Tell me what's happening," I pleaded.

He looked up at me slowly, blinking back tears. "It's my mom. She was in an accident."

****Author's note: Cue dramatic music! *bum bum bum* Read on... You know you want to! Next chapter up soon, I promise. (And by soon, I SWEAR I don't mean two months from now... :) hehe**


	15. Chapter 15: Waiting

****Author's Note: As promised. The next chapter. Couldn't leave you with a cliffhanger like that. That would be very mean of me... :)**

Fifteen- Waiting

Half an hour later, Zac and I were rushing into the emergency room. It didn't take long to find the rest of his family, since they took up almost half of the family waiting room. Quite a few of the family members had flown back to their respective homes after the wedding, but there were still 10 or so members of the Efron clan present.

Dylan was sitting on one of the couches, with his head in his hands. Kelsey was kneeling in front of him with her hands on his knees, trying to comfort him. She saw Zac and I approach and walked over to us quickly.

"Kelsey, what happened? All Dylan said on the phone was that mom was in an accident and that she is in pretty bad shape," Zac said quickly and quietly.

"Well you know about as much as we do. She went to the grocery store this morning to get food for breakfast, and we got a call a while later saying she had been in an accident and was being rushed here. We've been waiting for about an hour but haven't really heard anything."

"Where's my dad?" Zac questioned anxiously, looking around the small waiting room.

"We can't get a hold of him. He left early this morning to go surfing, and he's not answering his phone. We've left about ten messages, but he must not have his phone with him," Kelsey explained.

Zac sighed and sat down in the closest chair and I sat down next to him, not letting go of his hand.

I looked up at Kelsey. "Is there anything that I can do?" I asked. "Do you want me to make a coffee run or something?"

Kelsey looked around the room at the members of the family, her eyes coming to rest on her husband of less than 48 hours. "I guess that might be good. I just feel helpless. Dylan thinks that this is his fault, and I don't know what to say to him to change his mind," Kelsey said, her eyes welling up with tears.

Zac looked up at her. "Why would he think that this is his fault?"

Kelsey brushed away a tear. "Because he had told Starla that he was really in the mood for the waffles she always makes, and she was going to the store to buy the things to make them. So he thinks that it's his fault. I just don't know what to say to him to change his mind. The first test in our marriage, and I'm already failing."

Zac stood up, letting go of my hand, and hugged Kelsey. "You're not failing, Kels. Dylan is the most stubborn person I know. There's not really anything you or anyone can say. But let me try talking to him." Zac said with a half-hearted smile. He kissed me on the cheek and rubbed Kelsey's shoulder before going and sitting down next to his brother.

I turned to face Kelsey and pulled her into a hug as she fought back tears. "Kels, it's going to be okay," I said quietly.

"But I'm supposed to be there for Dylan. This is the first real emergency that we've had to face together, and I'm already doing a horrible job."

"You're not, Kelsey. With stuff like this, there's not always anything that you can do or say. Everything is pretty much out of our hands right now. What matters is that you are here with him and you're being there for him. It doesn't always mean saying something to make him feel better; just being here with him is what really matters."

Kelsey stood looking at the floor, tears rolling down her cheeks. After a minute, she looked up at me and smiled half-heartedly. "Thanks, Vanessa."

"No problem, Kels. We all just need to be there for each other right now, so I'll do whatever I can for you." I hugged her again. "So should we see if anyone wants coffee or food?"

"Sure," Kelsey answered, and we went around the room taking orders for coffee. As we approached Zac and Dylan, Kelsey took a deep breath. She put her hand on Dylan's shoulder. "Baby, do you need anything? Ness and I are going to go get coffee for everyone."

Dylan looked up at his wife, and his eyes were red from crying. Zac stood up and wrapped his arm around my waist, kissing my cheek and resting his head on the top of mine. Dylan took Kelsey's hand and pulled her down onto the couch next to him. "Do you think you could just sit with me, baby? I need you," he said quietly. Kelsey's eyes welled up with tears and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.

"I'm here, babe. I'll always be here," Kelsey said quietly.

Zac grabbed my hand and lead me away from Dylan and Kelsey. "Let's let them be together, Ness. I'll go on the coffee run with you," Zac whispered in my ear.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here and wait for news? I can go by myself," I said.

Zac immediately shook his head. "No, I'm coming with you. If they find anything out in the next few minutes, someone will call."

Zac and I walked to the Starbuck's across the street, and placed our order. We sat down to wait, and Zac held my hand across the table.

"So how are you holding up, baby?" I asked, rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb.

"Okay, I guess. I'm really worried about my mom. And I can't believe that my dad still hasn't gotten any of the messages. I don't whether I should be worried or pissed off."

"Well I'm sure that there's a good explanation for your dad not calling yet. Try not to jump to any conclusions, babe. You have a lot going on right now, and worrying is only going to make it worse. I'm sure that everything is going to be okay. And I'm sure they're doing all they can for your mom. She's going to be fine, babe."

"I hope you're right. I just wish that we knew what was going on with her," Zac said quietly, looking down at the table. A second later, his phone rang. Zac quickly picked it up. "Dylan, what's going on," he asked quickly. "Oh, Kelsey, hi. Any news?" He sat in silence for a moment as he listened to his sister-in-law on the other end of the phone. "Okay, thanks Kels. We'll be back in a minute," Zac said before hanging up the phone. "That was Kelsey. The doctor is talking to Dylan right now with the news. So we should get back there as soon as our order is up," Zac said anxiously.

"Zac, you should just go back. I can bring the coffee over. You need to go find out what's happening with your mom."

"Are you sure? There's a lot to carry. I don't want to leave you here alone."

"It's fine, I promise. You need to go be with your family. I'll be there in a few minutes," I assured him.

"Okay, well then I'll see you soon, baby." He stood up and gave me a quick kiss before hurrying out and across the street. I sat alone in the Starbuck's waiting for the coffee. I was anxious to get back to the hospital, both so that I could find out what was happening with Starla as well as be there with Zac. A few minutes later, the coffee order was ready, and I headed back across the street juggling three drink carriers.

I walked into the emergency waiting room to find the Efron family, including Zac's father, sitting around the room. From the looks on their faces, I could tell that the news from the doctor had not been positive. I set the coffee down on one of the small tables and rushed over to Zac, who was sitting on the couch with Kelsey and Dylan.

"Zac, what's the news?" I asked, taking his hand.

"Well I guess she had internal bleeding and some other stuff, but they took care of it. They said she's going to be fine, but it'll take her a while to fully recover 'cause she has a collapsed lung and a broken arm. We're allowed to go in and see her cause she's awake now, but they're only letting a few people go at a time. My dad and Dylan are in there now," Zac explained, his voice hoarse with emotion and his hands shaking. He stared down at the floor, taking deep breaths to try and relax.

I put my hands gently on the sides of his face and raised his head to look at me. "She's going to be okay, Zac. You heard it yourself. She's going to be fine, we don't have to worry anymore," I said gently, and kissed him softly before pulling him into a hug. He hugged me for a moment before taking a step backwards. I turned to see David and Dylan heading towards us.

"Do you want to go in and see her?" David asked Zac.

"Yeah, in a minute," Zac said quietly before turning to face me. "Babe, why don't you go in and see her. I need to talk to my dad really quickly. I'll be in there in a minute." I was confused, but I nodded and followed the nurse that had walked out with Zac's father and brother. She led me to one of the recovery rooms, where Starla was lying, most of her visible body covered in bandages.

I walked slowly over to the bed and stood next to her, picking up her bandage-free hand. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at me with a weak smile.

"How are you feeling?" I asked quietly.

"I've had better days. But I'll be fine," she said weakly. I was glad that at least her sense of humor was still intact. She squeezed my hand slightly. "Where's Zac? Is he here?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's out talking to David."

Starla sighed. "I hope he's not giving him a hard time. I heard it took him a while to get Dylan's messages. I bet Zac's not happy with him," Starla said quietly, looking sad.

"Well Zac was just concerned, that's all. I'm sure everything is okay," I tried to reassure her.

Starla took her hand out of mine and softly patted the bed next to her, so I sat down and picked up her hand again. "While Zac isn't around, there's something I need to say to you, sweetie," Starla said quietly. I became nervous and my heart started beating faster. She must have sensed my nervousness, because she continued quickly. "It's not bad, I promise. I just wanted to tell you that I'm so happy for you and Zac; that you are working things out and trying to figure out where you stand. You are the best thing that has ever happened to him. I just want to thank you for making him the man that he is today. You bring out the best in him," she said softly, with a small smile. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. "And I don't know what you two have discussed or what the future holds for you, but I know that whatever happens, Zac is a better man for having you in his life." Starla squeezed my hand again as I wiped my tears with my other hand.

The door opened and I turned to see Zac walk in behind the same nurse who had lead me to the room. When Zac saw me in tears, he walked quickly to me and took my free hand. "Are you okay?" He asked with a look of concern on his face.

I nodded and smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine. We were just talking." And I turned to smile at Starla, who returned my smile the best she could. "I'll leave you alone with your mom," I said, squeezing Starla's hand again before standing up and giving Zac a hug and kiss on the cheek. "I love you," I whispered in his ear.

"I love you," he whispered back. "I'll be out in a few minutes," he said as I walked toward the door. He sat down on the bed where I had been sitting a moment earlier and took his mother's hand in both of his. I heard him ask her how she was feeling before I shut the door behind me.

I made my way back to the waiting room to join the rest of Zac's family. When I got back to the waiting room, only David, Dylan and Kelsey were still sitting there.

"Where is everyone else?" I inquired.

"Some of them went to get lunch, some of them had planes to catch. They had all just been waiting to hear that she'd be okay," Kelsey answered. She was holding and rubbing Dylan's hand, because he did not appear to be any less worried or upset than he had been before he knew his mother would be all right.

David stood up and stretched. "I think I'm going to go see if I can find a doctor and try to find out how long she'll be in here." He headed off towards the nurse's station, and I sat down in one of the chairs a few seats down from the couch where Kelsey and Dylan were seated.

I leaned back and rested my head against the wall and though back over the events of the last 72 hours. They were proof of how quickly everything could change. I had gone from being alone and miserable, to having to choose between Zac and Aaron, to being completely happy with Zac. Now with Starla's accident and today's events, I wondered what other changes were to come. It scared me to think that in a moment, everything could change. I felt like all I was doing was waiting for the next change. Waiting to find out what it was going to be. Was my life going to change for the better or for the worse tomorrow? There was no way of knowing, and that scared me. All I knew was that I could face whatever changes life was going to throw at me as long as Zac was with me.

Just as I had thought that, Zac came walking into the waiting room. He walked over and sat down next to me, but stared at the floor instead of looking at me.

"Do you feel any better now? Your mom is fine, she's going to be okay," I said reassuringly, taking his hand. "You can be happy now, it's all okay," I said with a smile.

After a moment, he looked up at me and I smiled again. "We need to talk," he said quietly.

There was no smile on his face.

****Author's Note: Hehe, I did it again. Cliffhangers, cliffhangers.... Next chapter up soon!**


	16. Chapter 16: Whole Again

****Author's Note: Another one! I'm trying to make up for SUCKING so badly the past two months by updating a lot now, since I have some time. And I've recently re-fallen in love with writing this story and doing all kinds of crazy things to the couple we love. I hope you're pleased with this one. I sure as hell am! **

****WARNING: This story is rated M. You wanna know why? It's cause of stuff in this chapter right here. If you don't like it, don't read it. If you do, please read on and enjoy! Don't say I didn't warn you...**

Sixteen- Whole Again

I took a deep breath. I pulled my hand away from Zac's so that he could not feel it begin to shake. My mind started racing, filled with endless possibilities of what Zac could have to say to me. Had he changed his mind about being with me? Even the thought of it made my heart ache. I stared at the floor and took several deep breaths to calm myself.

"Okay. What is it?" I said quietly.

At the sound of my voice, Zac looked up for the first time. He must have sensed or seen my nerves, because he grabbed one of my hands quickly and intertwined his fingers with mine. "It's nothing really bad, Ness. It's just," he paused and took a deep breath, "hard to say."

"Okay," I said quietly again, with a tiny nod.

"I know that we talked about me moving back to LA with you. But right now, I think I need to stay here. I need to be here for my mom while she's recovering. And what you said before about needing to take things slow, I feel like I haven't been respecting that. Everything that you said the other night was right. And I don't know, maybe all of this stuff with my mom happened for a reason. Kind of a sign or a reminder that we need to take it slow," Zac said softly, and then he looked up at me hesitantly to see my reaction. I still couldn't look at him, so he continued. "I'm not saying that I don't want to move back and live with you; because I do want to. But maybe the timing will be better if I move to LA after my mom has gotten better. I'll still come visit you or you can come here if you're not busy. We can make it work, I promise." He paused, still trying to gauge my reaction. Finally, he gently put his hands on each side of my face and I looked up at him. "So what do you think?"

The tears welling up in my eyes must have spoken for themselves, because Zac pulled me into a tight hug. I buried my chest and breathed in his familiar scent, now wondering how long it would be before I would smell it again; and wondering, as he kissed the top of my head, how long it would be before I felt his lips there again. I felt the tears spill over and down my cheeks, and my breath came in short gasps. Hearing my ragged breathing, Zac pulled back to look at me.

"Babe, what's wrong? Talk to me," he said anxiously.

I had to work to take several deep, calming breaths before I could answer him. "I, I just don't want to be without you again," I choked out before I broke down into tears again. Zac pulled me back into a hug. A few moments later, after composing myself again, I continued. "I know that your mom needs you, and I want you to be there for her and your family, because they mean the world to you. But I need you too, Zac. It's selfish and horrible of me, but it's true. I can't handle the thought of getting on a plane in seven hours and leaving you." I looked up at him and saw the tortured look on his face. "But it's what you need to do. You need to stay with your family. Your mom needs you more than I do." I looked down at the floor again.

"Ness, I don't like this anymore than you do. It is literally going to take every bit of strength I have to watch you walk away tonight. But let's try and look at it this way- it's only temporary. You can leave tonight knowing that I will be thinking of you and loving you and missing you every second that you're gone. And as soon as my mom is back on her feet, I will be on my way down to LA to start the next chapter of our life together. And that doesn't mean that we won't see each other before then. We've done it before and we can do it now; we'll find ways to see each other. I promise."

I fought back tears and nodded softly, not able to find the words to say anything else.

"So do you want to get out of here? I'm sure that you have a lot to do before tonight," Zac said, moving his hands from my face to hold my hand.

"Shouldn't you stay here with your family?"

"There's not really any reason for me to stay. If we find out anything new, I'm sure my dad or brother will let us know. I really just want to be alone with you before you leave," Zac said, squeezing my hand.

"Okay. Well if you're absolutely positive," I replied quietly. Even though he insisted he could leave, I felt guilty taking him away from his family.

"Okay, let's just say bye to Dylan and Kelsey," Zac said as he stood and helped me to my feet and we walked over to the newlyweds. "We're going to take off. V's got a lot to do before she goes home tonight."

Dylan and Kelsey both stood up to hug us goodbye. They promised they would call if anything changed, and Zac and I headed out to his car. It was almost three in the afternoon, which meant that I had less than seven hours left with Zac before my ten o'clock flight back to LA.

We arrived to the Efron's house and went up to the bedroom I had been staying in so that I could pack. We spent most of the time in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was enough for us just to be together.

About half way through the packing Zac stopped what he was doing and sat down on the bed. "Babe, I have a kind of crazy idea," he said with a bit of a twinkle in his eye.

I sat down on the other side of the bed, facing him. "Um, okay. What is it?"

"What if you cancelled your flight tonight and I drove you back to LA," he said with a smile. "My family can do without me for one night. Plus, it will give us more time to be together."

"That sounds like a great idea. But you're sure you can leave? What about your mom?" I asked hesitantly.

"She won't even be out of the hospital tonight. And my dad is spending the night with her there. Kelsey and Dylan will be here to watch the house. No reason for me to be here bored and missing you when I could be with you for one more night," Zac said with a huge smile on his face. He was obviously very pleased with the plan he'd concocted.

"If you're absolutely sure. That sounds perfect," I replied with an equally large smile.

Before I had even finished my reply, Zac grabbed my computer, finding the flight information that I had left open on the desktop. Before I could say anything else, he had cancelled my flight. He playfully shoved my suitcase off of the bed, sending my clothes flying onto the floor.

"Thank you for choosing Efron Chauffeur Service, madam. I'm sure that you'll have a very pleasant experience with us," he joked, kneeling on the bed and bowing playfully.

"It's going to take me forever to pack all that up again. You're going to pay for that," I said with a fake scowl on my face.

"I hope I will!" He said with a playful wink. I lunged across the bed and tackled him, pinning him under me. I knelt over him with my knees on either side of his hips and I slowly lowered myself to kiss him. I held his hands down on either side of him, and he struggled for a moment but stopped when I snaked my tongue into his mouth. I let go of his arms and he immediately wrapped them around me, running his hands through my hair and over my back. The kiss started out slowly and gently, but it quickly became more passionate as we both released the desire that had been pent up for far too long. Before too long, we were both clamoring for as much contact as possible, moving our bodies to eliminate any and all space between us. I arched my back towards him and moaned into his mouth as he ran his hands down my back and even further south. He left me tingling with desire everywhere his hands trailed, from my shoulders to the back of my thighs.

I shifted and pulled Zac up so that he was sitting, and I pulled his shirt over his head. He quickly did the same with mine, and they both landed on the pile of clothes that he had knocked off the bed a few moments before. I pulled myself fully onto his lap, pressing myself as close to his chest as I possibly could, feeling underneath me the hard evidence of his desire. Zac undid the button and zipper on my jeans, but did not pull them off. He teased me by quickly brushing the top of my underwear but then moving his hands back up my sides. He pulled me in closer to him, his hands gripping me firmly but tenderly on each side. I wrapped my arms around his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair as I slowly began grinding my hips against his. I broke the kiss and moved down his neck, kissing and biting the spots that I knew were his most sensitive. I heard him groan when I nibbled on one of his earlobes.

Barely a second later and in one quick motion, Zac fell back into the pillows of the bed and rolled over so that he was on top of me. He held himself up above me with one hand while the other he ran lightly down my arm and then back up, giving me tiny goose bumps. This was nothing compared to the shiver that ran down my spine a moment later when he ran his hand down the middle of my chest and down my stomach. He ran his hand back up my stomach and over my breasts. Even through the bra that I desperately wanted him to remove, Zac's hands worked the magic that I had missed. He slid his hands around my sides to my back and quickly fulfilled my wish by unhooking my bra, and it was added to the growing pile of clothes at the foot of the bed.

Having not broken our passionate, desire-filled kiss, Zac pulled away and stared down at me. I looked up into his bright blue eyes as he looked down into mine. He took in my partially naked form and whispered huskily through his heavy breathing, "You are so beautiful." I ran my fingers through his hair before pulling him down hungrily to continue our kiss. Our tongues immediately began their dance again. I gently bit Zac's lower lip, and he quickly took the cue. His lips left mine and trailed down my neck. I gasped and arched my back towards him when I felt his mouth close around one of my breasts and his hand come up to massage the other. My head fell back against the pillows and my back arched again when Zac gently bit the nipple of the breast he had in his mouth. The mixture of pain and pleasure was irresistible, and a few moments later Zac switched to the other breast, almost as if he was reading my mind. He gave this breast the same treatment as he had given the other, causing me to arch toward him and let out a small moan with each bite or kiss.

Not sure how much more of his teasing I could take, I ran my hands through his hair and gently pulled his head away from my breast. I immediately regretted the loss of pleasure, but knew that there was something I needed more. I pulled him toward me for a hungry kiss, but pulled away a moment later. "Please, Zac," was all I could whisper through my ragged breathing. But I didn't need to tell him twice. His hands quickly flew to the top of my jeans and I lifted my hips off of the bed so that he could remove them. He slid them off quickly, and then moved to his own jeans, which he pulled off in one swift motion. He trailed one finger up my thigh and over my underwear, causing me to buck my hips toward him.

I grabbed his hand and quickly rolled over so that I was on top of him. With one hand I pinned his hand down to the bed. "Two can play that game," I said through ragged breaths. I trailed my other hand down his chest slowly and over his abs and flat stomach. I ran my hand down his thigh, and brought it back up along the inside of his leg. I felt him stiffen even more, if possible, as I ran my hand over his boxers, dipping my fingers slowly beneath the waistband but then pulling them back out again. I moved back up his body and pinned his other arm down as well. I lowered myself tantalizingly close to his lips, but pulled away when he arched up to kiss me. I lowered my mouth close to his ear and whispered, "No more teasing?" The combination of my hot breath on his ear, my bare chest pressed against his, and my hips still grinding against him caused Zac to groan and say my name hoarsely.

Unable to take it anymore, he rolled over on top of me and, in turn, brought his mouth down to my ear. "No more," he whispered back and then kissed me passionately as his hands trailed down to my last remaining piece of clothing. He slid them off easily, and then quickly discarded his own boxers. He hovered over me for a moment, looking me in the eyes. "I love you," he said quietly.

"I love you," I said in return. With that, he thrust inside of me. He started slowly, filling me completely with each long, slow stroke. Within him inside of me, I felt whole again. Our bodies fell into a perfect rhythm, still in sync after over a year apart. We both let out periodic moans, or breathed each other's name into the other's ear.

Before long, however, the slow pace wasn't enough for either of us. I wrapped my legs around Zac's waist and whispered into his ear, "Harder, please." I had barely gotten out the second word when Zac did exactly as I asked. He started thrusting into me faster and harder, and I kept my legs wrapped tightly around his waist to remain as close to him as physically possible. My fingernails dug into his back, and I was sure that we would both have marks the next day from the bites that we trailed over each other. But neither of us cared. We were completely lost in each other. Zac knew how to reach every spot that made my head spin, and with each thrust my back would arch toward him, our bodies in total harmony. Entangled with him, it was impossible to say where he ended and I began.

Knowing that I would not last much longer, I moaned his name loudly. He took his cue and moved one of his hands down between my legs; finding and rubbing the sensitive nub, and almost making me lose control. I brought my own hands up to my breasts. I watched Zac's eyes practically roll back in his head as he watched me, and I knew he was close too.

He increased his pace even more, and after only a few more long, hard strokes, I felt myself reach the edge. With the next thrust, I was completely lost in oblivion. I felt Zac reach his peak at the same moment, as he released inside of me. I saw stars and felt my whole body being consumed by the orgasm.

After what seemed like a blissful eternity, Zac collapsed beside me. Both glistening with sweat, we let our limbs remain entangled, not ready to give up the feeling of being completely connected and completely intertwined. He pulled me in closer to him, and I could feel his chest rise and fall heavily as he tried to bring his breath back to normal. I looked up into his eyes and he brushed a sweaty strand of hair from my face as I did the same for him.

"I love you," he said with a smile, before kissing my forehead.

"I love you," I replied, my heart feeling so full that it could burst. I had never felt so whole in my entire life.

"Can you do me a favor?" He asked, and I responded with a nod. "Never let us go a year and a half ever again," he said with a playful smile, and then he gently kissed my neck as I laughed.

I squirmed away from him, and stood up. He grunted in protest at my absence in the bed, but stared up at my naked figure in a combination of lust and happiness. "I need a shower," I said casually. But I walked backwards, seductively, toward the bathroom. I turned around and walked into the bathroom. I turned on the water of the shower and waited a moment before moving to stand in the bathroom doorway, giving Zac the best view of my naked body. "Well, are you going to join me," I inquired playfully.

I had barely gotten the words out. Zac got out of bed and crossed the room in three short steps. In one fluid motion, he picked me up and crashed his lips against mine. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he walked into the bathroom and kicked the door shut behind us. He carried me into the shower and then set me down, not breaking the kiss. The bathroom mirror was already fogged and the room was filled with steam from the hot shower.

I moaned contently into Zac's mouth, knowing that it was _definitely _not going to be long before we would be feeling whole again.

****Author's Note: All right, what'd you all think?! You loved it, I hope! Since this is my first fanfic, this is my first time writing, shall we say, a scene of this nature. So please, please, please let me know how I did and if I should continue. Or if I should go write K - T stories! haha. As always, your feedback is LOVED, WANTED, and greatly, greatly, APPRECIATED! The next chapter should be up tomorrow. Well technically today, since it's 3 am. I've had this next one in my head literally for like 3 months, so I hope you love it!**

**I love you guys for being so awesome!**

**xoxo  
Annie **


	17. Chapter 17: Fighting

****Author's note: Sorry guys, really thought I'd have this up sooner! I had an awesome but busy 4th of July weekend. But here is the next chapter, as promised. The next one will probably be up tomorrow. I wanted to do it tonight, but I'm too tired after a long day of work. This chapter is a pretty short one, more for transition purposes than anything else. No real drama or cliffhangers, but I hope you still like it!**

Chapter 17- Fighting

After our shower, Zac and I started re-packing my suitcases. In that moment, I don't think I could have been any happier. Zac and I had fallen back into our perfect rhythm; we laughed almost constantly, and shared little affectionate moments in between folding clothes or cleaning up the room. It didn't take us long to clean up the mess that we had been a little while earlier.

It was when we were finished with the packing and sitting on the bed that the sadness and the reality of the situation hit me I was leaving, and Zac was staying here. For god knows how long. I felt a lump in my throat and tears gather threateningly in my eyes at the thought of the separation that was only a few hours away from us.

Determined not to let myself break down yet, or to let Zac see me breaking down yet, I hopped off the bed and turned to face Zac, holding out my hand for his. "Dinner? I'm starving," I asked with a smile, trying to hide that the sadness was starting to get to me. I didn't want Zac to see me upset, because the last thing I wanted was for him to feel guilty or uncertain about staying with his family like he needed. I had to convince him that it was the right thing to do, even if I was not so sure myself.

"Sure, I'm really hungry too," he said, returning my smile as he took my hand. I pulled him to his feet. He immediately pulled me towards him and into a tight hug. He rested his chin on the top of my head for a moment and I breathed in his scent, not wanting to let go. He kissed the top of my head and pulled away. "Let's go eat," he said with a smile, before leaning down to give me a quick kiss and then heading out the door and down the stairs.

I grabbed his hoodie that I had left lying on the bed and pulled it on over the t-shirt and boxers, both his, that I was wearing. By the time I got downstairs, Zac was already in the kitchen flinging cupboards open and rummaging for food.

"Pasta sound okay? We don't have much food in the house. My whole family being here this weekend kind of cleaned us out," he said with a laugh.

"Pasta works for me," I said as I hopped up to sit on the counter across from him.

"Then pasta it is," he said as he pulled out a pot and filled it with water. He put the water on the stove and turned it on, then pulled the box of pasta out of the cupboard and put it on the counter. Then he turned and made his way around the island toward where I sat on the opposite counter. "Now we wait," he said with a smile as he walked up to me, standing between my legs. He put his hands on my knees and leaned in, kissing me softly. I put my arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss. He moved his hands from my knees up my legs, and wrapped them around my waist, pulling me closer to him so that I was sitting on the edge of the counter. After a while of increasingly more passionate kissing, I pulled back.

"Baby, um, we're in your mother's kitchen…" I said with a soft laugh. He laughed with me and gave me another quick kiss before removing his hands from my waist.

"Sorry, babe. I honestly think I kind of forgot the effect that you have on me," he said with a wink.

"Oh my god. That was so cheesy," I said, playfully smacking his chest and laughing at him. But I grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward me; so that his face was close to mine again. "I could never forget what you do to me," I said softly and with a smile before kissing him. After a moment, I pushed him away. "I hear the water boiling," I said with a smile. He shot me a fake glare and trudged over to the other side of the kitchen. He dumped the pasta into the water, and stood in front of the stove, his back towards me.

I hopped off of the counter and walked over to him. I wrapped my arms around him, laying my head on his back. He twisted around and wrapped his arms around me. I lifted my head so that I was resting my chin on his chest, looking up at him. "I love you so much," I said softly.

"Oh baby, you have no idea. I love you too. Are you sure that you have to go back right away? Stay a couple more days," he said quietly, with a pleading look that broke my heart.

"You know I would if I could, Zac. But I haven't seen my parents in over two months. And I promised Stella that I would start being there for her more, especially with the wedding plans and everything. I wish I didn't have to leave, but I really do," I said, telling myself over and over inside my head not to cry. So far, I was holding up.

Zac nodded quietly and leaned down to kiss me. I stretched up on my toes to meet him halfway. The kiss was soft, and I swore that I could feel my own sadness reflected in Zac. I knew that we were both putting up strong fronts for the other, it had always been that way; we both hid our pain to save the other from hurting any more than necessary. But inevitably, I knew there was a moment when both of our walls would come crashing down, but I didn't even want to think about that moment and what it would do to me.

A few minutes later, we were sitting at the table eating our pasta. We were both starving after the days "activities", so we ate in no time flat. When our plates were clean, Zac picked them up and took them over to the sink. He went over and opened the freezer, but hid whatever he had taken out behind his back. He walked toward me with a smirk on his face. When he got to the table, he set down a pint of Ben and Jerry's mint chocolate chip ice cream down in front of me. I squealed and grabbed it.

"Baby! Did you buy this for me?" I asked, nearly bouncing in my seat.

"Yep. You're favorite," he said with a smile as he sat down. I leaned across the corner of the table to kiss him.

"Thank you, you're the best," I said with a huge smile on my face.

"I try. But the catch is, you have to share with me," he said as he pulled two spoons from behind his back, putting one on the table in front of me and tapping me lightly on the nose with the other.

I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily. "Fine," I said grumpily, before bursting into laughter and leaning forward to kiss him again.

Between the two of us, we finished off the small pint of ice cream in only a few minutes. I sat back in my seat, pulling my legs up to my chest, and sighed. "That was so good. I haven't had ice cream in like a year," I said with a laugh.

Zac gave me a fake look of shock. "Oh my god, that is the saddest thing I have ever heard in my life," he said and I lunged forward to smack him. But his reflexes were too quick and he grabbed my hand. He softly kissed my palm, before pulling me out of my seat toward him. I sat on his lap and wrapped my arms around his waist. I laid my head on his shoulder. "I'm going to miss you so much," he whispered.

I felt the lump rise in my throat again. I took a deep breath before softly saying, "I'm going to miss you too. I already do." I straightened up and looked at him. His eyes were tear-free, but I could definitely see the sadness in them.

He kissed me softly again for a minute, before pulling away. "As much as I hate to say this, we should probably head out soon. It's getting kind of late, and we've got a three-hour drive ahead of us."

I looked up at the clock on the kitchen microwave and saw that it was almost 8:30. "Yeah, I guess you're right," I said, but I didn't make any movement to get up. I put my head back down on his shoulder, and he laughed gently.

"Come on, silly," he said as he stood up, bringing me with him so that he was carrying me like a baby. He carried me up the stairs and into the bedroom, setting me down on the bed. I pulled me knees up to my chest and fought back the urge to cry. He kissed me on the forehead. "I'm going to go put your suitcases in my car. Do you want to just double check and make sure you're not leaving anything behind, and I'll be back up in just a minute," he asked gently. I nodded again, and he grabbed my two suitcases and rolled them out of the room.

I got up and walked slowly around the room, making sure that I had packed everything I had brought. I slipped out of Zac's boxers and pulled on the pair of his basketball shorts that I had laid on the bed. I had made Zac surrender some of my favorite items of his clothing, spraying them with his cologne first, so that I could feel like he was with me after I left. I folded the boxers and threw them into my purse. I picked up my purse and the old ragged teddy bear that I'd had for more than 10 years.

I heard Zac coming back up the stairs, and he laughed when he came in and saw me. He walked over, looking at my bear. "I can not believe you still have that," he said laughing as he took it out of my hands to examine it.

I snatched it back from him with a fake glare. "He's been everywhere with me. I can't get rid of him now," I said.

"I know, baby. I'm just teasing you," he said with a smile and a wink. "So are you ready to leave?"

"Not really. But let's do it anyways. I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I said with a weak smile. Zac pulled me into another hug and kissed the top of my head. He pulled back and took my free hand. We walked hand in hand down the stairs and out to the car.

As Zac opened the car door for me and I climbed in, I looked back at the house and fought the urge to cry again. I wasn't sure if I was leaving home or heading toward it.

****Author's Note: Next chapter will be their goodbye! *tear* So be ready for that... It'll be up as soon as possible! And just to give you all a heads up now, I am leaving on Saturday to go to the Bahamas for a week! So I won't be able to write or update while I'm away. But I will get you guys a few more chapters before I leave, and then I'll start updating again as soon as possible after I get back!**

**xoxo  
Annie **


	18. Chapter 18: Home

******Author's Note: WOW! So you've all probably either decided that you hate me for never updating, or you've completely forgotten about this story. But either way- here I am to make it up to you! I can't believe it's been almost six months since I've updated. I'm a horrible, horrible author and I apologize profusely! Life has just been CRAZY! I hope you can all forgive you for making you wait so long. And in order to try and get back on your good side(s), I wrote you a chapter that I think is delicious and sexy and pretty freaking awesome. I hope you can forgive me! And I promise that there will be more updates to come. And it won't be another six months...**

**SO on that note, here is the long awaited next chapter! Since I got such positive reviews on my first "M" scene, here I am giving you all another one. Well, two actually. Yes, you read correctly. This chapter consists almost entirely of moments that you shouldn't read with your mom around, if you know what I mean. *wink* If you like that sort of thing, READ ON, and I hope you'll be very happy. And if you don't like that kind of thing, that's just too bad. Skip it or tolerate it. You've been warned. Hehe.**

**But enough of my rambling! I love you all, thanks for coming back to me after so long! And enjoy this chapter.**

Eighteen- Home

Three too-short hours later, Zac pulled into the driveway of my house, which I hadn't seen in almost a year. He shut off the car and opened the door, shooting me a feeble smile before he got out and went to the trunk to get my suitcases. I didn't move, and took a deep breath as I looked up at my house. It was home, and I was glad to be back. But there was a part of me that wanted to run screaming in the other direction; away from anything that meant Zac leaving me. And right now, going into my house meant that before too long, Zac would be leaving.

I was shaken from my thoughts by the opening of the car door. "You alright, babe?" Zac said quietly, bending down so that his head was poking through the open window. I smiled and nodded before grabbing my purse and climbing out of the car. Zac stood looking at me as if he was evaluating me, and I could tell from his face that he knew how far from being okay I was at the moment. "You wanna go in?"

I sighed and shrugged. "I guess there's really no other option, is there?" I laughed feebly. "You want me to get one of those?" I asked quietly, gesturing to my suitcases.

"No, I got them baby," Zac said with a warm smile. I knew that he was doing whatever he could to make me feel better about the situation, and I loved him for that. I punched in the code for the garage. I felt a little wave of happiness wash over me when I saw my two cars, sitting right where I'd left them. Being in New York filming for months, it had been ages since I'd even driven, and I had missed it. I hit the button to shut the garage door once Zac had followed me in.

As if he could read my mind, I heard Zac's voice from behind me. "Bet you can't wait to get back out on the road," he said with a laugh. I laughed also and turned to face him.

"You have no idea," I said with a genuine smile.

"So which one is it gonna be? The mom car or the sexy car?" Zac asked with a playful smile. I lunged toward him and smacked his chest. He winced but the smile didn't leave his face.

"A Range Rover is NOT a mom car! Shut up."

"Oh yes it is. You could drive five kids and three dogs to soccer practice in that thing," Zac said, still smiling playfully.

"Okay. Just because it COULD fit a lot of people in it does not make it a mom car. It's just an SUV. You're such an ass," I said, pretending to be mad. I fought back a smile as I glared at him.

"Yeah, sure. You win. It's not a mom car. Yet," he said with a wink. The smile I had been fighting won the battle. I started laughing and lunged at him. He picked me up as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He set me down and I took two steps back.

"Besides, who said that this car couldn't be sexy?" I said as I ran my hand down the side of the Range Rover. I opened the door and climbed into the back seat. I knelt on the seat facing away from Zac, who was standing outside the car staring at me. I felt his eyes intensely on my back as I slowly raised his t-shirt I was wearing over my head. I heard a sharp intake of breath from behind me, but Zac didn't move. It wasn't until I unhooked by bra and let it fall to the floor that Zac made his move. I felt the car move under his added weight and heard the door close behind him as he climbed into the car.

Before I could turn around, I felt Zac's hands on my waist at the same moment that I felt his breath and then his lips on my neck. My head fell back against his shoulder as he found the most sensitive spots on my neck. He kissed up my neck to my ear and cheek. I quickly turned myself around to face him and our lips crashed together.

Earlier that day, there had definitely been passion. But it had been more subdued before. Now, however, there was a sense of urgency that neither of us wanted to, or was able to, fight. This time, there was no slow build up; I could taste the passion in the air and feel the evidence of it pressed against my leg as Zac eliminated any and all space between us.

The passion was too much to take anything slowly, and I quickly, and almost violently, worked to remove Zac's belt and pants. He did the same with my own bottoms, although since I was wearing his basketball shorts they slid off quickly.

Free of barriers and not wasting any time, Zac thrust into me hard and fast. My nails dug into his back underneath his t-shirt as we moved together. With every thrust I felt a moan escape my lips, and I arched my back toward him. Our pace quickened even more, and it wasn't long before Zac and I both reached our climaxes, together.

We clung to each other until the orgasm passed and our breathing started to return to normal. Exhausted but elated, I fell back onto the seat. I felt my head hit something hard and I grimaced in pain.

"Fuck! Ouch!" I said as I felt behind my head and realized that I had fell back onto the seatbelt buckle.

"Oh babe, you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. That hurt. But I guess that's what I get for trying to prove that Range Rovers can be sexy," I said with a smile as I played with the hem of his shirt, which both of us had been too busy to ever remove.

"You definitely proved me wrong. Range rovers are very, very sexy," Zac said quietly, leaning down and kissing me between each word of his last sentence.

I beamed up at him and kissed him back. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he lowered himself further so that we were almost completely entwined again. Just as I began to deepen the kiss, my stomach growled loudly.

"Well, that's definitely not sexy," I said with a groan as Zac sat up, laughing.

"Let's see if we can do something about that. We've had a very," he paused and thought for a moment before continuing with a smile, "active day. I don't blame you for being hungry."

He reached down to grab my shirt and bra from the floor, and reached up to retrieve his pants from on top of the console between the two front seats. My own, well technically his, basketball shorts were underneath me, and I lifted my hips to grab them and then put all of my clothes back on. A moment later Zac was fully dressed as well, and he opened the car door and hopped out and then helped me out of the car. He smoothed my hair and tucked a strand behind my ear, before looking down and evaluating the state of my clothing. I had put the shorts on backward, and my t-shirt was inside out. He snorted at how disheveled I looked.

"Don't you dare laugh at me; it's not my fault I was distracted when I was getting dressed," I said with a fake scowl.

"Oh you were distracted? Really? I can't possibly imagine what had you so distracted," he said quietly, and he trailed off as he bent down and kissed me softly but intensely. He pulled away and placed a trail of kissed across my jaw and neck and over to my ear.

"Is this what was distracting you?" He whispered softly as gently nibbled on my ear and then kissed back down my neck.

I let out a soft sigh, but then my stomach growled again, even louder than before. I laughed quietly. "Nope, it was that," I said with a sly smile as I pushed him away. "Food is my main priority right now," I said as I turned and went to unlock the door into the house.

"I'd be offended if I wasn't so hungry too," Zac said from behind me. I heard him grunt as he pulled my two suitcases along behind him.

I pushed open the door and held it open for him. Once he was inside and had dragged my suitcases into the hallway, I rose up and kissed him softly on the cheek.

"You were an excellent chauffeur. Would you like to be an excellent chef now also?" I said with a huge smile on my face and giving him my best puppy dog eyes.

"You are so needy," he said, rolling his eyes playfully as he stomped away toward the kitchen dramatically. "How am I supposed to cook here though? You haven't been here for months, and I can't make dinner with shit you've had in your fridge for months, we'll both get food poisoning and die," he glared at me playfully, but with a twinkle in his eye.

"My mom sent me a text this morning saying that she was bringing over some food, since she know I was getting home late tonight and would probably be hungry. And you don't even have to really cook, you just have to put whatever she brought into the oven," I said as I to the refrigerator to see what my mom had brought. I pulled out a casserole dish and lifted the foil covering it.

"How does lasagna sound?" I asked, turning to Zac and holding out the dish.

"Lasagna sounds perfect," he said as he took it from me. He went about preparing dinner, knowing his way around my kitchen as if it was his own. I hopped up on the counter and watched him. After putting the lasagna in the oven, he crossed to me and stood between my legs, much like he had earlier that day in his mother's kitchen. He placed his hands on my knees and rubbed my legs.

"So are you glad to be home?" He asked quietly after a moment.

"At the moment I am, since you're here. I don't know how I'm going to feel about it tomorrow when I'm here and you're not," I responded; afraid at first to look him in the eyes. But after a moment I looked up at him, and was surprised to see him looking at me with a wide smile on his face. "Why are you smiling at me like that? I'm being serious," I said, annoyed.

"I'm sorry, baby. I had just forgotten how adorable you are when you're worried," he said, still with the smile on his face.

"Well I don't really think is funny, Zac. I'm really having a hard time with this," I said quietly.

"I know you are, believe me. And I am too. I'm just trying to get you to enjoy the time that I'm here. We can worry about me leaving when the time comes. But until then, let's not talk about it. Deal?" Zac took my hands in his. The smile was smaller than before, but still there, and he looked at me sincerely. "It's not that I think the situation is funny, I just don't want to think about tomorrow yet. I can't really handle it."

"I understand. It's a deal; we'll be done talking about it. From now on I'm going to enjoy my time with you. Every second of it," I said, kissing him between each word of my last sentence as he had done to me before.

"Oh really?" Zac said, raising his eyebrow. I said nothing, but simply nodded in response. I gave him another kiss, this time longer and deeper. I snaked my tongue into his mouth and it took up its familiar dance with his. He pulled me closer to him, and I was reminded of earlier that day when we had shared almost this exact same moment at his house. It made me laugh. He pulled back and gave me a quizzical look.

"This doesn't remind you of anything?" I asked, laughing, gesturing between the two of us. He stared at me, confused. "Your mother's kitchen earlier, Zac. Déjà vu, don't you think?"

"I guess so," Zac said with a smile.

"But you want to know what's different now?" I asked, having calmed down now, and looking at him intently.

"What?" He asked.

"This isn't your mother's kitchen," I said, putting my hand behind his head and pulling him closer so that I whispered it in his ear. I bit his earlobe gently.

He pulled back and looked at me for a moment before crashing his lips into mine. One of his arms remained wrapped tightly around my waist as he brought the other up to the back of my head, running his fingers through my hair as he pulled my face closer to his. I reciprocated by wrapping my legs around his waist and using my legs to pull him closer to me.

"How long until dinner is ready?" I whispered in his ear, after pulling away momentarily from the kiss.

"Uh, 20 minutes," Zac said through ragged breathing.

"Perfect," I whispered in his ear again, and I brought my lips back against his. I removed my legs from around Zac's waist, and used one hand to shove myself off the counter. The move surprised Zac, and I put out a hand to keep us from running into the fridge behind us, never breaking the kiss. I wrapped my arms back around Zac's neck and continued to kiss him feverishly.

After a moment of being pinned against the fridge, he seemed to get the message. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, still not breaking the kiss. He carried me out of the kitchen.

Finally breaking the kiss, Zac pulled back and looked at me. "Where?" He asked through his ragged breath.

"Guest bedroom," I said quickly and pointed down the hallway to the room at the far end before crashing my lips against his once again.

Once we were in the bedroom, I unwrapped my legs from his waist and he set me down. He protested when I broke the kiss. But I put a finger to his lips and then trailed it down his chest and to the hem of his shirt. I pulled it over his head and ran my hands over his perfect stomach and chest for a moment. I stepped closer to him and began to kiss his chest, as I ran my hands all over his muscular back. I straightened and rose up on my toes to kiss him gently on the lips. He lurched forward for more, but I pulled back. I put a hand against his chest, keeping him an arm's length away from me. I pushed him firmly but gently down on the bed.

He propped himself up on his elbows and looked up at me, desire evident on his face and in his body language. I took a few steps back and closed the doors, but never took my eyes off of him. I then crossed to the window that faced the back yard and shut the curtains, knowing that it was unnecessary but taking pleasure in the knowledge that every moment he watched me his desire was increasing.

As I crossed slowly back toward the bed, I played with the hem of his t-shirt I was wearing before pulling it over my head and tossing it into the corner. I then shimmied out of the basketball shorts and let them fall where I dropped them. I stopped in front of the bed where I had started and stood facing Zac for a moment.

I ran one hand down my neck, over my bra, and down my stomach. I let my hand slip into my already wet underwear, and Zac's head dropped back and I heard him let out a groan. I watched as he brought his head back up to stare at me, and he undid the zipper on his pants and started to snake one hand down toward his boxers.

"Ah ah ah," I said quietly, sliding my hand out of my underwear, shaking my head, and crossing to him. I bent down and put my hands on his knees. I grasped the fabric of his jeans and pulled. "That's my job," I said huskily. He lifted his hips so that I could pull his jeans off. After throwing the jeans off to the side, I crawled onto the bed. Zac worked his way backwards so that he was fully on the bed, instead of having his feet on the ground.

I threw my knee over his legs so that I was straddling him. I pulled him up so that he was sitting. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, although it had only been a minute or so, I pressed my lips to his. I let the kiss start gently, but it escalated quickly. After a few moments, one of his hands left its position on the back of my head and trailed down my back and around my waist. He unhooked my bra and threw it to the side, spending only a moment giving my breast the attention that I ached for.

A few moments later, I only barely registered his fingers skimming the top of my underwear before I felt him slip his hand inside the only piece of clothing I had left. They were completely soaked and I just wanted to be rid of them, but that thought was pushed completely from my mind when I felt him slip one finger inside of me. I threw my head back and arched my back toward him when he withdrew the finger and then slipped a second finger in as well. The arching of my back toward him placed my breasts conveniently close to him, as I realized when I felt his mouth close around one of my breasts. His free hand was placed in the middle of my back, keeping me close to him steadily. His tongue swirled around my erect nipple as his other hand pulsated in and out of me, now with three fingers inside of me. I was at the brink of losing control when he suddenly removed his fingers from me. I waited for him to thrust them back in, but he didn't.

Before I could fully mourn the loss of the pleasure, his hands were working another kind of magic. He was rubbing my sensitive nub with his thumb and massaging the outside of my aching core with the rest of his hand. I felt myself getting even closer to a release, and finally broke when he once again thrust three fingers into me. I arched toward him again, and I let out a loud moan of both pleasure and pain as his teeth closed around my nipple and his fingers thrust into me simultaneously. The combined sensations sent me over the edge, and I felt my orgasm wash over me. I held him to me tightly until it passed, and then pulled away, looking at him through desire-clouded eyes.

We simply stared at each other for a moment, both of our breathing heavy, and not needing words to communicate our lust. I kissed him gently and ran my hands through his hair. After a few moment of regaining control, I felt Zac shift underneath me and realized that while some of my desire had been quenched, his had not.

I deepened the kiss and slowly pushed him down onto the bed so that he was lying. His hands roamed my back and he seemed intent for a moment to just enjoy the kiss.

But my hands trailing down to the waistband of his boxers seemed to alert him to his pulsating need that I felt so strongly against me. My hands went further down to the bottom of his boxers and I began to pull them down. Picking up on it quickly, he lifted his hips off the bed and I pulled them off the rest of the way. He started a motion to roll us over, but before he could do so, I put a hand on his chest.

"My turn," I whispered hoarsely. I kissed him roughly on the mouth one more time before starting to trail kisses down his neck, chest, and stomach. My hand reached his rock hard member first, and it stiffened even more, if possible, as I wrapped my hand around it. I began stroking it, from the base to the tip, while continuing to kiss and bite my way downward. I heard him groan when I removed my hand, but the sound turned into a moan of pleasure when my mouth began where my hand had left off. I swirled my tongue around his tip before taking his entirety into my mouth. His hips bucked toward me and I began sliding my lips up and down his shaft.

After having to watch me receive my pleasure first, it didn't take him long to reach his breaking point. I heard him moan my name, and then a moment later he released his seed into my mouth. I swallowed out of habit, the taste of him familiar to me. I kissed my way back up his stomach

As if on cue, his stomach growled loudly as I hovered over it. I let out a quiet laugh and kissed his stomach. I sat up, and he joined me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him. My breath had returned to somewhat of a normal pace, but his bare skin against mine still sent shivers down my spine.

I put my hands on both sides of his face and kissed him intensely. I heard my own stomach growl and felt a smile break across his lips a moment later.

"Babe. Food," he had to remind me. As soon as he mentioned it, I realized how insanely hungry I was. I had a brief but intense battle over which I wanted more: Zac or food. I didn't want to leave this bed or his arms, but I felt like my stomach would eat itself if I didn't eat itself.

After a few moments of furious internal debate, I groaned and rolled my eyes. I gave him another quick kiss before scooting away.

"Alright, fine. Come on, let's go eat," I said sourly, not wanting to leave his arms. He chuckled softly and scooted off the bed as well. He simply slid his boxers on, and I put back on his t-shirt, not bothering with any other article of clothing since the t-shirt just barely managed to cover all the necessary places.

Zac looked at me in his t-shirt and sighed before wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me toward him. He kissed me softly before bringing his mouth close to his ear.

"With you looking like that, it's a miracle that we ever force ourselves to eat," he whispered. I felt the aching begin in my core again, and I put a hand on his chest and pushed him away.

"No more of that. Food first. If you keep talking like that, I'll never be able to let you out of this bedroom and we'll both starve to death," I said playfully as I lead the way back toward the kitchen.

It was only a matter of moments after we re-entered the kitchen when the oven timer went off.

"Perfect timing!" Zac exclaimed as he went over and removed the lasagna from the oven. I got out plates and silverware while he did so, and then we sat down at the kitchen table and ate, mostly in silence. We both devoured three large helpings of lasagna in almost no time at all.

When we were finished eating, Zac looked up at me and smiled. "Better?" He asked.

"SO much better. I don't feel like eating my own arm now!" I said with a laugh.

"Well that's an excellent improvement, I'd say. What now, babe?" He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye.

"I know what you're thinking, but baby it's like 1 am. And it's been a really, really long day. I say we take a shower, and then pop in a movie to fall asleep to. We'll get a good night's sleep so that we can have energy for another really, really long day tomorrow," I said suggestively.

"I'm okay with that plan," Zac said beaming at me. We headed upstairs and took showers, in separate bathrooms in order to risk the temptation to make this night any later. We both knew from experience that once we started, it was often difficult to stop.

After my shower, I threw on one of Zac's old shirts that I often slept in. When Zac entered my room, I had to take a moment to catch my breath. He was just wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants. Even after 10 years, the sheer perfection of his body astounded me sometimes. I had to fight the urge to rip the sweatpants off of him as he crawled into bed with me.

We turned on a movie and watched intently for the first few moments. But it wasn't long until the long day finally hit me and I gave in to exhaustion. The last things I remembered were Zac's lips on my head and his soft "I love you" in my ear, and then sleep overpowered me.

******Author's Note: So do you guys love me again, or are you still mad at me?! I hope that chapter was good enough to make up for taking so damn long to update. Pretty please, please, please give me reviews and let me know. Because I'll do as much or as little of the "M-rated" stuff as you want me to. I like writing it, but what's important is whether you like reading it. So reviews, PLEASE! They're what keep me going and motivate me to write!**

**I love you all. Hope you enjoyed it.**

**Up next: the inevitable goodbye. How will Zac and Vanessa handle it?**

**xoxo**

**-Annie**

**OH, p.s! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY VANESSA HUDGENS! I don't know if you've all seen the pictures/videos/news from her birthday party, but I know that I've been freaking out about them! I love Z & V so much, and it's been great to see them out and about together lately! Love it. Okay. That's enough. I'll go work on the next chapter now. =]**


	19. Chapter 19: Passion

****Author's Note: AHHH! I'm officially the worst updater EVER, I think. But I hope that I'm at least making up for it a little in this chapter. It's very long. And very HOT. In my opinion... And I almost guarantee that a new chapter will be coming SOON. I love you all for sticking with me. PLEASE keep reading and reviewing, it makes me so so so happy when you do! Oh, and I think some of the chapters might be a little messed up because I went back and deleted some chapters that were just author's notes... So just a heads up about that. Enjoy this chapter!! As I'm sure you will ;)  
**

Nineteen- Passion

When I woke up the next morning, I was afraid to open my eyes. I didn't want to open them and realize that the last 48 hours had been a dream. So many times over the past year and a half I had dreamed of Zac and I being together again; and each time the dreams had been so realistic, I was worried that this had just been another one of those all too-real and all too-painful dreams.

But the warmth of Zac's soft breath on the back of my neck and his arm draped across my waist reassured me that our reunion had not been a dream. I tried to turn over to face him, doing so as subtly as possible to avoid waking him. I successfully turned over and stared at him for a moment.

I had known him for so long and over time had memorized the contours of his face and body. But looking at him now, I was still finding myself breathless over the near perfection of his features. Having gone over a year without being able to truly study his face, I took the opportunity now to re-memorize any details I had forgotten.

I found myself trying to recall the exact shade of blue of his eyes when they opened slowly and met my own. I gasped and giggled slightly, pulling back a little.

"Uh uh," Zac whispered groggily, wrapping his arm more tightly around my waist and pulling me back toward him. He yawned and cleared his throat.

"Now who's the creepy one watching people while they're sleeping?" he asked quietly but playfully.

"I'm not creepy. I just missed you. Waking up next to you," I said quietly in return, looking away from him. He removed his hand from my waist and brought it up to brush my face. He tilted my chin so I was looking at him again.

"I'm just teasing you, beautiful. I've missed waking up with you too. A bed always feels too big and too empty when you're not next to me in it," he said sincerely before kissing me gently. I smiled at him and kissed him one more time.

"So what do you say, breakfast time?" He asked, kissing me on the cheek before climbing out of bed. I climbed out of bed as well and crossed to my large walk-in closet. I quickly grabbed a pair of sweat pants from one of the shelves to the left of the door and pulled them on.

I came back out and went into the bathroom to find Zac finishing bushing his teeth. He held up the toothbrush toward me with an amused look.

"You kept my toothbrush for me?" He asked with a laugh.

"Just in case. And it's a good thing I did," I answered, also laughing. I grabbed my own toothbrush and started to brush my teeth quickly. Zac stood behind me and put his hands on my waists. He tickled me softly and I squirmed to get away from him. My attempts to get away only encouraged him to tickle me more, and I burst out laughing, dropping my toothbrush and spitting toothpaste all over my sink and faucet. I was laughing uncontrollably but trying to get away from Zac as he tickled me even harder.

I managed to turn and face him and began pushing against his chest, firmly but playfully. In response to my shoving away from him, he wrapped one arm tightly around my waist and pulled me closer to him. His other hand came up and he twisted my hair between his fingers, pulling my face closer to his.

I pretended to fight back for one more moment before his lips met mine forcefully. One of my hands was pinned between his chest and my own, but I brought the other up to the back of his neck in order to ensure full contact between us. He practically lifted me off the floor as he pulled me closer to him, and I wrapped my arm around his neck. He deepened the kiss, darting his tongue into my mouth, and mine in turn danced in and out of his.

My breath was starting to become ragged and my heart was racing. But just as it had the day before, my stomach growling took me out of the moment. Zac laughed and took a step back.

"Like I said, time for breakfast," he said playfully. He gave me another peck before heading out of the bathroom. I wiped up the toothpaste I had spit everywhere and then followed him downstairs.

"Let's hope that your mom provided supplies for breakfast too," I heard Zac call from the kitchen as I was coming down the stairs.

"Well, did Gina come through for us?" I asked playfully as I walked into the kitchen a few moments later.

"Oh, Gina came through. I love your mother," Zac said as he pulled eggs, bacon, and a gallon of milk out of the fridge.

There was a post-it on the eggs on which my mother had scrawled "There's pancake mix in the pantry. Not sure what you would feel like for breakfast! Love you both." I went and grabbed the pancake mix and plopped it down on the counter by the rest of our breakfast options.

"So what'll it be?" I said, gesturing to the options like they were prizes on a game show. Zac laughed and put an arm around my waist, pulling me toward him. We stood side by side and surveyed our options.

"How 'bout some of everything?" He said, bumping his hip against mine.

"Sounds good to me," I said as I took the post-it off the eggs and stuck it on the refrigerator. "I'll make the pancakes if you make the eggs and bacon," I suggested as I grabbed a mixing bowl and measuring cups.

"Or how about you just sit yourself down and I'll take care of breakfast," Zac said playfully as he grabbed them away from me.

"Okay, I guess can't argue with that. I wouldn't want to deprive you of the opportunity to cook for me, I know how much you love it," I beamed at him. "Plus, I need to go get dressed. I haven't worn actual clothes in like a day."

"I don't see the problem with that, but okay," Zac said with a wink as he leaned down and gave me a quick kiss. He turned to start making breakfast and I left the kitchen and headed back upstairs.

I was very glad that Zac had brought my suitcases upstairs before bed last night; I would never have been able to get them up the stairs on my own. They lay at the foot of my bed, waiting to be opened and unpacked.

I didn't feel like dealing with unpacking just yet, so I went into my closet and looked for something to wear. I picked out one of my oldest, most worn-in and most comfortable pairs of jean shorts and a plain black tank top.

The back corner of my closet was devoted to clothes of Zac's that I had been given, or had stolen. I pulled off the t-shirt I was wearing and hung it up in that section. It was a good thing that I had not been home for a lot of the time for the past year a half, or I probably would have burned or thrown away the contents of that section. I had come close on a couple of occasions, but had never had the strength to get rid of any thing that reminded me of him. I stood up on my tiptoes to pull one of Zac's old zip-up hoodies off the shelf up above. I grabbed the hoodie and pulled it down, but jumped out of the way when a large item came falling down with it.

I looked down to see a large, leather bound photo album. Almost at the exact same moment, my heart both leapt for joy and felt a stab of pain. It was one of several albums that Zac and I had put together that illustrated our time together. I bent down and picked it up, running my hand over the cover. In the center was a picture of Zac and I from my 21st birthday, and underneath the photo were each of our initials. I smiled as I looked at the picture, remembering so vividly the night it had been taken and how happy I had been. I opened the album and flipped through some of the pages, seeing pictures of Zac and I on vacation, or at a party, or out by my pool, or even just pictures we had taken on the photo booth of my computer. Every picture brought back the memory of that moment, and I could remember it as if it was yesterday.

I flipped one more page and my heart sunk. On the next page was a single picture. It had been taken on Christmas morning at Zac's parents house. Two weeks before he told me that didn't love me anymore.

I fought back tears as I looked at that picture and the emptiness that surrounded it and followed it. Even though I knew why Zac had done what he had, and I understood that he still loved me more than ever and that he would never leave me, thinking of that day still caused me indescribable pain. And this picture and the rest of the blank pages in this album just reminded me of that.

If we had been together for the past year a half, would this album be full? Would there be another album dedicated to our wedding photos? Would Zac be staying here with me instead of leaving to go back to his family?

I couldn't stop the tears from coming as I dropped to my knees. As happy as I was now, and as confident as I was about my future with Zac, the pain of thinking about the past year and a half was still crippling. And not only that, but in only a few hours Zac would be leaving again. It was the right thing for him to do, but I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to handle watching him leave.

This thought brought a new wave of grief and I doubled over, crying uncontrollably now. My whole body was shaking and I tried, unsuccessfully, to catch my breath. I tried to tell myself that it was nothing, that he'd be back soon, and that we would be together forever. But I had lived without him for over a year, and now that he was finally back in my life he had to leave it again.

I hugged the photo album to my chest and tried again to regain control. This time, my breath came a little easier. The tears still streamed steadily down my cheeks, but my breath was starting become more even. I looked down at the ring on my right hand and smiled.

"He wants to marry me," I said to myself softly, "we're going to be okay." I stood up and took a couple calming breaths. I set the photo album down on the floor and went to the bathroom to clean myself up. I washed my face and put on some make-up.

I went back to the closet and pulled on the hoodie of Zac's that I had chosen. I also picked up the photo album, and debated between putting it back on the shelf, or taking it downstairs and showing it to Zac. I knew that it was the only one he had never seen all of, because I had done the last several pages after he'd left me. I decided to take it down to show him, and so I headed back down the stairs with the album.

I walked into the kitchen and he was standing at the stove, with his back to me.

"Smells great in here, baby," I said as I set the album down on one of the chairs at the table and crossed toward him.

"Your timing is perfect. I'm just finishing everything up," he said, turning to smile at me.

"Well then I'll grab some plates," I was doing everything I could to keep my voice and attitude upbeat, hiding the dread that I was feeling for the separation that was all too close.

"I hope you're in the mood for scrambled," he said, turning with a frying pan in his hands and bringing it over to where I was setting plates out on the counter.

"I'm always in the mood for scrambled," I said as he put half the eggs on my plate and half on his. He grabbed the two plates and took them over to the stove. When he returned, they each had bacon and two pancakes on them as well.

"Wow, it's a good thing I'm starving!" I said playfully as I gave him a quick kiss and took my plate. I grabbed maple syrup from one of the cupboards and went and sat down at the table. Zac followed and sat down across from me. We ate in silence for a few moments.

"Mmmmm. This is so good," I mumbled through a full mouth. Zac, whose mouth was also full, nodded and fought back a laugh. He chewed for a moment and then swallowed.

"Thanks babe. Always told you I was the best."

"I've never disagreed," I said with a smile after swallowing my mouthful.

We both kept eating in silence, concentrating on our food. I was used to sitting in silence with Zac; we knew each other so well that we did not need words to fill every second.

But there was something different about this silence. The silence between us was normally comfortable and peaceful; the silence that arises when two people who are so comfortable with each other that they can be content without words. But this silence was unsettling and sad, the calm before the storm, almost. I could sense that the dread that had been creeping more and more into my mind was also getting to Zac.

We both finished our food and I looked up at him with a smile. "Breakfast was delicious, babe. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Ness," he replied with a small smile. He picked up both of our plates and took them over to the sink.

"You don't have to wash those," I called quietly, "I'll do it later."

"It's fine, babe. I'll just run some water over them so the syrup doesn't dry on there," he said, with his back to me.

I sat in silence at the table, playing with the frayed hem of my jean shorts. I looked over and saw the photo album on the chair next to me. I picked it up and put it on the table.

I heard Zac shut the water off and he turned and came back to the table. He looked down at me, puzzled, when he saw the photo album. He sat down next to me this time, and I pushed it toward him.

"Do you remember this? I found it up in my room," I said quietly. He ran his fingers over the engraved initials on the cover and then opened it. I looped my arm through his and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Of course I do. I remember the day that we did this. There was that huge thunderstorm and we sat on the floor of your living room with all of our pictures out all over the floor. And we just sat there all day long putting together albums and laughing about how ridiculous some of the pictures were. How many albums did we put together that day, you think?"

"Oh, probably about six," I said laughing quietly. "I'd forgotten about that, actually. That was a good day."

"Yeah it was," he said, turning his head slightly and kissing me on the forehead. "But I haven't seen all of this one. Did you finish this one on your own?"

I nodded, the lump in my throat keeping me from speaking. I was afraid that opening my mouth would betray me, and that then he would know how much I was struggling.

"I love it. But we need to work on filling the rest of these pages," he said as he thumbed through the empty pages quickly.

"Yeah and when are we gonna do that?" I asked quietly, breaking my silence but immediately wishing that I hadn't. I knew that fear and dread, and also a bit of anger, had crept into my words and that Zac sense it. He pulled away slightly and I released my arm from his and sat up straight as he turned to look at me.

"Babe, what's wrong?" He asked with concern evident on his face and in his voice.

"What do you think is wrong, Zac? You're leaving! And I'm going to be all alone again. And I know that you're doing the right thing, going back to your Mom and all. It just sucks. I'm not sure yet how I'm going to handle it," I choked out, using everything inside of me to fight back the tears that were welling up in my eyes. "I guess I'm just afraid of being alone again."

"Hey, look at me. You are never gonna be alone. Just because I'm not here all the time doesn't mean you're alone. I promise that the minute my mom is okay and I can come back here to you, I will. But in the meantime we'll be able to talk. We've had to do this before- if we could get through three months not seeing each other while we were both shooting, then we can get through this. I promise," Zac said quietly, holding my hands in his and rubbing the back of my hands with his thumbs. I stared down at our hands, afraid to look at him. I knew that his eye, as usual, would do me in the second that I looked into them.

"I... I just wish that I had as much confidence as you do about all of this. About us," I said quietly. I heard him take a deep breath.

"I really screwed things up didn't I? I hurt you so badly." I nodded but didn't say anything, the lump in my throat preventing me from speaking. "I'm so sorry, Vanessa. I thought that I was doing what was best for you, and if I'd known that I was just hurting you as much as I was, I never would have done what I did. I'll never forgive myself for hurting you like that. But even after what I did, do you think that you can trust me when I say that I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you? I'm going to get that trust back, I promise."

I slowly lifted my head and looked into his eyes. There were tears in his eyes, but they did not spill over. I smiled softly at him, not sure whether I was trying to comfort him or myself.

"I believe you. I really do. It's just gonna take some time to get used to you being gone again. But knowing that you'll be coming back to me soon makes it easier."

"And hopefully I'll be back before you even have time to get used to me being gone," Zac said, pulling me towards him until I was sitting on his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his forehead against my shoulder.

After a few moments, he lifted his head to rest his chin on my shoulder, his lips mere inches away from my ear. "I love you. So much. More than my own life," he whispered. His arms tightening around my waist and his breath on my ear sent shivers down my spine. I turned to look at him, placing my hands on both sides of his face.

"I love you too. More than you'll ever know," I whispered back, keeping one hand on his cheek and running the other through his hair and down to the back of his neck.

"I have to go soon," Zac whispered.

I nodded. "I know. But do me a favor. Don't tell me that. Don't say goodbye to me. Not yet. Just kiss me."

The words had barely left my lips when he crashed his lips into mine. As I used my hand on the back of his neck to pull him closer to me, he kept one arm wrapped tight around my waist and ran the other up over my arm, across my neck and through my hair. He twisted his fingers through my hair and pulled me closer to him. Where his hand had roamed, my skin was on fire, and I felt the all too familiar longing for more contact.

Without breaking the kiss I stood and shifted so that my legs were on either side of his and then sat back down on his lap so that now I was straddling him. He groaned as I pressed my body hard against his. He started to grind my pelvis against his, feeling his hardness under me. His hands had moved down and were underneath my shirt, roaming my back. He brought one hand around to the front and took my breast in his hand, squeezing gently. My head fell back as I let out a soft moan, and Zac's lips found the most sensitive spot on my neck. He nipped at the spot gently with his teeth at the same moment that he pinched my already erect nipple and rolled it between his fingers. A small gasp escaped my lips and I felt myself growing even wetter than I already was.

When Zac bit down again, it was his name that slipped from my lips. I lifted my head back up and found his lips again. The feverish kissing, my grinding against him, and our hands roaming all over each other was becoming too much for either of us. He brought his hands up my sides, and my shirt along with them. He pulled it over my head and threw it down on the floor, and right away his mouth took up the task that his hands had abandoned. As his tongue swirled around my nipple and he bit down gently, my breath became even more ragged and I started to work on undoing his belt and jeans. He followed my lead, and worked quickly to take off my jean shorts.

Reluctantly breaking contact, I stood and took a step back as he removed his jeans. But before I fully had time to even register the loss of contact, he took one step and closed the gap between us, putting his hand at the back of my neck and pulling me toward him, crashing my lips into his. At the same time, he hoisted me up into his arms and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

He cleared off the placemats and napkins on the table with one arm, keeping the other wrapped firmly around my waist. He set me down on the edge of the table and I pressed my body firmly against his, not wanting to allow any space between us. His arm remained around my waist, while the other trailed down from the back of my neck, over my chest, down my stomach and toyed with the hem of my underwear.

I moaned into his mouth when he plunged his hand underneath the only clothing that remained to separate us. He rolled my sensitive nub between his fingers, and I thought that I was going to lose control completely. Before that could happen, I quickly brought a hand down and grabbed his wrist. I pulled away from the kiss and brought my lips to his ear.

"Please, Zac. I need you," I whispered huskily, barely able to find enough breath to form the words. I let go of his wrist and moved my hand down along the inside of his thigh. I felt him shiver and his lips found my own once again, and I lifted my hips off the table as he slid my underwear off and threw them on the ground. He took advantage of my hips being raised to pick me up again. He put his hands under me and pulled me to him, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. I placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed myself up slightly, before lowering back down onto him.

Immediately, he began thrusting into me at full force. My head fell back and I let out a loud moan as he hit the right spot with each thrust.

"Oh god, Zac," I moaned, but I was then silenced by his lips taking control of mine forcefully. I moaned into the kiss and moved my hips so that which each thrust he gained even deeper access.

In one fluid motion and before I even realized what had happened, I was laying on my back on the table with Zac standing before me, still plunging deeper and deeper into me with every stroke. He held onto my hips tightly, digging into my skin. There would be marks there tomorrow, but I didn't care. I moved with him and we fell into a hard, fast rhythm. I brought my hands up to my breasts and began to squeeze them as Zac had done earlier.

The sight must have been too much for Zac, because he leaned down and ran his hands over my stomach and up to my breasts, taking over the motions of my hands, and continuing to thrust into me. I took advantage of him being closer to me and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling myself up toward him. He straightened up and I was again in his arms. I could feel the tension building inside of me and I knew that I wouldn't last much longer.

"God, Zac. I'm…" I started to moan, but like before my words were drowned in a passionate kiss. Zac groaned into my mouth as we kissed. He whirled around and slammed me hard against the wall. Normally I would have been in pain, but at that moment all I could think about was him inside of me and the release that was only moments away. I wrapped one arm tightly around his neck and pushed the other firmly against the wall for more leverage. I felt like I was right on the edge and I knew I could hold off much longer.

"Come with me," I whispered in Zac's ear.

"Oh god, Ness," he groaned. The combination of his breath on my ear, my name barely escaping his lips, and his final, powerful thrust sent me over the edge. I clung to him tightly as I rode the intense wave of pleasure. Zac came over the edge with me and he cried my name out loud as he held on to me tightly. I brought my head down to his shoulder and bit it gently. I let out a loud cry as the orgasm continued to wash over me.

After what seemed like an eternity of bliss, Zac and I had managed to regain our breath, He set me down gently and I placed a hand on the table for support. My head was still spinning slightly from the intense high and my legs felt more like jello than anything else. Zac wrapped an arm around my waist and lifted me, with what seemed like no effort, into his arms.

"Shower?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye. He didn't appear anywhere near exhausted as I felt.

"Baby, I don't know if you were just having the same sex as me, cause I'm wiped out now," I said with a small laugh.

"Okay, bath then," Zac said with a wink as he carried me out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my master bathroom. I laughed and rolled my eyes. He set me down and I hopped up to sit on the counter as Zac turned on the faucet of my large Jacuzzi bathtub. He walked back over to me as the tub filled and kissed me gently. Sweat had caused my hair to stick to my forehead, and Zac brushed it out of the way and kissed me on the forehead. He looked down and studied me for a moment.

"You are so beautiful. I miss you already," he said quietly, kissing me on each of my cheeks and then the tip of my nose. I felt tears welling up in my eyes and a stab of sadness in my gut.

"Please don't," I whispered, "not yet." I couldn't hold them in, and the tears started. I looked anywhere but into his eyes. He didn't say anything, but he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest.

Sitting there listening to his heartbeat, feeling his arms around me and the warmth of his skin, I felt like no other place in the world could be as safe as those arms. I knew that no one else in the world was every going to love me as much as he loved me, and I knew that the separation that was imminent was only a temporary one. We had the rest of our lives to make up for the short time that we would be spending apart, and that thought gave me strength. I rotated my head so that my forehead was resting against his chest. I kissed his chest and raised my head to look at him.

"You know what? I think I might actually be okay with this. Because you'll be back here before you know it. And we'll get to have lots and lots and lots of moments like these," I said with a smile, kissing him between each word in my last sentence. He raised his eyebrows at me and kissed me back one more time.

"I like looking at it from that angle," he said with a wink. He gave me another quick kiss and moved away to shut off the water. He held his arm out to me. "Ladies first," he said with a smile, gesturing to the bathtub. I hopped off the counter and crossed to him. I took his hand and stepped into the tub, not letting go of his hand as I sat down and he stepped in after me.

I sat facing him and used my feet to playfully splash water at him.

"Do you wanna play that game? Really? You really think it's safe to go there?" He teased with a fake threatening glare on his face. "You're messing with the wrong guy," he said as he grabbed my ankle. He used it to pull me towards him slightly, and then he found my hand underwater and used that to pull me the rest of the way toward him, so that he was sitting and I was kneeling in front of him. "You're gonna pay for that," he said quietly as his free hand moved to my waist and started tracing circles down lower and lower. I tried to reply, but all that left my lips was a slight moan. He ran his hand down the outside and then the inside of my thigh.

He moved the arm that was still holding my hand and wrapped it around my waste. He pulled me toward and turned me around so that I was sitting with my back to him. His hand continued to blaze trails of fire around, but not close enough to, my already aching core. My head fell back onto his shoulder and I let out a loud moan when he simultaneously brought one hand up to massage my breasts while the other was tracing circles around my clit.

Suddenly, he inserted a finger into me, and then a second, and then a third. I arched my back away from him and started moving in rhythm with his hand as he pumped his fingers in and out of me. One hand trailed down my stomach to circle around my clit as he pumped in and out of me, and I slid my other hand behind my back and ran it up and down his rapidly growing erection. His lips were on my neck, licking and biting and sucking in all the right places, and the combined sensations on all of my most sensitive areas was two much.

My walls clenched around his fingers and I continued to rub even faster circles around my sensitive nub until I came, and then I relaxed into his chest. He wrapped his arms around he as I let the orgasm wash over me and I regained my breath.

Feeling his hardness pressed against my back, I smiled to myself. Without saying a word, I used the sides of the tub to lift myself up and then I lowered myself down onto him slowly, sliding down over his shaft.

He let out a small groan and his hands quickly moved to m hips. I kept my hands on the sides of the tub and began to pump up and down on top of him. His hands helped to guide me as moved on top of him. I threw my head back against his shoulder and let him continue the work he had been doing on my neck a few moments before. Zac held on tightly to my hips, so I took my hands from the sides of the tub and brought them up to my breasts, massaging in circles as our rhythm got faster and faster.

For the third time in such a short period of time, I felt myself on the edge. But before I could get there, Zac let out a groan and released into me. I felt a moment of disappointment, but that quickly passed when Zac, knowing that I had not received the same pleasure as he had, lifted me off of him and set me on the side of the tub. I leaned back against the wall as he moved to kneel in front of me.

He looked up at me through lust filled eyes before placing a trail of kisses up the inside of my thigh. I thrust my pelvis toward him, wanting the contact that I knew was so close. Seconds later, my wish was granted as Zac inserted his tongue into my wet fold, and he moved his tongue in and out of me, swirling it in circles and bringing me close to the edge. He flicked my sensitive nub with his tongue, and then brought his hand up and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger as his tongue returned its attention to my folds.

I lasted only moments longer, and then an orgasm raked yet again. After riding it out, I slid back down into the bath with Zac.

I sat at the opposite side and made sure that I wasn't touching him at all. I shot him a playful glance. "Okay, so no more touching each other. We're not allowed. We have to stop now, or else I'm not gonna let you out of this room, let alone out of this house," I said with a laugh. Zac pretended to look upset.

"Is that really what you want?" He asked teasingly as he moved his foot to mine. I shot him a false glare. He moved his foot up my leg, and I shot him an even worse glare. But then I burst out laughing. I lunged toward him, so that my chest was pressed against his and our faces were only centimeters apart.

"That's not what I want at all," I whispered. I kissed him gently, but then he deepened it, snaking his tongue into my mouth. I pulled myself up so that I was sitting and straddling him. He wrapped his arms around my waist as our tongues fought for dominance.

He was starting to kiss his way down my jaw to my neck when I heard his ringtone coming from my room.

"Babe, your phone," I said through my increasingly ragged breath.

"Whatever they have to say, they can say it to my voicemail," he said between kisses on my neck.

"Zac. What if it's Dylan, or your mom, or your dad? Go answer the phone." I urged him. He stopped suddenly, and it was clear that his family crisis had been driven out of his mind by our activities. I moved off of him and he hopped out of the tub. He grabbed a towel hanging by the door, wrapped it around his waste and disappeared into my room.

I sat in the tub, disappointed, but knowing that it was best. And what I had said was true; if we kept this up I wasn't sure we'd ever be able to stop.

Figuring that it was best not to tempt fate, I climbed out of the tub and drained the water. I grabbed the towel hanging on the opposite side of the door and wrapped it around myself. I walked into my room to find Zac pacing by the window, listening intently into the phone. He muttered some general agreements, nodded his head a few times, and then after a quick "Okay. Bye Dylan" he hung up the phone.

"Is everything okay, baby?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, mom's holding up pretty well; they're getting ready to discharge her. Probably once the doctor has come for afternoon rounds, Dylan said," Zac's joy for his mother's speedy recovery was evident on his face.

"I'm so glad, sweetie. I knew that she'd be okay. So... Does that mean that you're going to be heading home now? So that you can be there when your mom gets home from the hospital?" I asked, trying to remain cheerful but already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, I guess it does. As much as I hate to say that," Zac said, crossing the room toward me and pulling me into a tight hug.

"Well I guess the sooner you leave the sooner you come back, right?" I said in the most lighthearted voice I could muster.

"I like looking at it that way," he said with a smile, leaning down to kiss me on the top of the head. "Well I should probably get dressed," he said as he gave me a quick squeeze and then moved away to get clothes from the small overnight bag he had brought.

As he got dressed, I went into my own closet and pulled on a pair of shorts and one of Zac's old t-shirts. I went back out into my room to see Zac slipping his phone in his pocket and putting his shoes on. He looked up at me, and I stood in the doorway of my closet, leaning against the frame of the door. We watched each other for a moment before he laughed and shook his head.

"What?" I asked him, confused.

"Nothing. Sometimes I just can't get over how beautiful you are," he said as he stood and walked over to me. He slid his hands around my waist and pulled me close to him. "So should we head down?" He asked quietly. I thought for a moment.

"Actually, no. You go; I think I'm going to stay up here. I don't want your last image of me to be one of me crying and saying goodbye to you. Until you come back, I want you to remember me just like this. Happy and smiling and loving you more than anyone in the entire history of the world has every loved another person. That's the image I want in your mind until you see me again," I said with a smile, using all my strength not to let the lump in my throat cause my voice to break.

"Are you sure?" He asked, hesitantly. I nodded, not trusting that my voice wouldn't give me away.

"Alright. Well I will probably call you from the road. I'll need someone to talk to," he said, a smile covering his face.

"That sounds good," I replied, mustering the best smile I could.

"I love you so much. I love you more than yesterday and less than tomorrow. And I always will. And I'll see you soon, I promise," he said quietly, pulling me into a tight hug. I clung to him with all my might and fought back the tears.

"I love you too. More than I'll ever be able to say," I whispered.

He pulled away from me slowly, and took my face in both of his hands. "I'll be seeing you, beautiful," he said before slowly bringing my face up to his. He kissed me gently and then deepened the kiss. The kiss was passionate, and deep, and long, and sad; all the things I had known and been afraid that it would be. It took everything I had not to let the tears spill over and down my cheeks.

After what seemed like an eternity in that perfect but heartrending kiss, Zac kissed me on the forehead and turned to head for the door. I held on to the doorframe of the closet for support. Just before he got to the door, he stopped. He didn't turn all the way around, but he turned his head so that I could see his profile. He took a deep breath.

"I miss you already, Ness," I heard him say, barely above a whisper. I watched him leave the room, and heard him go down the stairs and out the door. It was until I heard his car start and then the sound of it disappear down the street that I gave into the anguish of having him leave.

I crumpled to the floor, pulling my knees up to my chest, and cried until the world went dark.

****Author's Note: Well?! Have I redeemed myself? Please say yes! hehe. Next chapter will be coming soon. It's almost finals week, and lord knows I need something to distract me from actually studying! Again, please review. I will love you forever. And a day. With cherries on top. And whipped cream on the side. Okay. Enough rambling. It's 4am- I stayed up til 4am to finish this for you guys, so you better LIKE it and you better REVIEW it! hehe. I'm just playing. But seriously. Reviews. Please. I love you. **

**My half-awake rambling is going to end now. Please don't subtract too many cool points for this rant. Goodnight, and good luck. :)**


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